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ESSAYS  AND  REVIEWS. 


ESSAYS  AND  KEVIEAVS 


~oCOX<iA>o^ 


THE    FOURTH   EDITION. 


-c>C«J)X(>>JO- 


LONDON : 
LONGMAN,  GREEN,  LONGMAN,  AND  ROBERTS. 

186L 

[The  Anfhorg  reserve  the  right  of  Trandation.] 


LONDON : 

SAVILL   AND    EDWARDS,    PRINTERS,    CHANDOS    STREET, 

COVENT    GARDEN. 


I 


TO  THE  EEADEE. 


It  will  readily  be  understood  that  the  Authors  of 
the  ensuing  Essays  are  responsible  for  their  respective 
articles  only.  They  have  written  in  entire  indepen- 
dence of  each  other,  and  without  concert  or  comparison. 
The  Volume,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  received  as  an 
attempt  to  illustrate  the  advantage  derival^le  to  the 
cause  of  religious  and  moral  truth,  from  a  free  hand- 
ling, in  a  becoming  spirit,  of  subjects  peculiarly  liable 
to  suffer  by  the  repetition  of  conventional  language, 
and  from  traditional  methods  of  treatment. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


The  Education  of  the  World.  By  Frederick  Temple,  D.D., 
Chaplain  in  Ordinary  to  the  Queen ;  Head  Master  of 
Hugby  School ;  Chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Denbigh        .     .  i 

Bunsen's  Biblical  Researches.  By  Rowland  Williams,  D.D., 
Vice-Principal  and  Professor  of  Hebrew,  St.  David's 
College,  Lampeter  j  Vicar  of  Broad  Chalke,  Wilts     .     .       50 

On  the  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  By  Baden 
Powell,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  Savilian  Professor  of  Geometry 
in  the  University  of  Oxford 04 

Seances  Historiques' de  Geneve.  The  National  Church.  By 
Henry  Bristow  Wilson,  B.D.,  Vicar  of  Great  Staugh- 
ton,  Hunts j,k 

On  the  Mosaic  Cosmogony.     By  C.  W.  Goodwin,  M.A.    .     .     207 

Tendencies  of  Religious  Thought  in  England,  1688— 1750, 

ByMARK  Pattison,  B.D 254 

On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  By  Benjamin  Jowett, 
M.A.,  Regius  Professor  of  Greek  in  the  University  of 
^^f°^^ 330 

Note  on  Bunsen's  Biblical  Researches 434 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  WORLD. 


IN  a  world  of  mere  plienomena,  where  all  events  are 
bound  to  one  another  by  a  rigid  law  of  cause  and 
effect,  it  is  possible  to  imagine  the  course  of  a  long 
period  bringing  all  things  at  the  end  of  it  into  exactly 
the  same  relations  as  they  occupied  at  the  beginning. 
We  should,  then,  obviously  have  a  succession  of  cycles 
rigidly  similar  to  one  another,  both  in  events  and  in 
the  sequence  of  them.  The  universe  vrould  eternally 
repeat  the  same  changes  in  a  fixed  order  of  recurrence, 
though  each  cycle  might  be  many  millions  of  years  in 
length.  Moreover,  the  precise  similarity  of  these 
cycles  would  render  the  very  existence  of  each  one  of 
them  entirely  unnecessary.  We  can  suppose,  without 
any  logical  inconsequence,  any  one  of  them  struck  out, 
and  the  two  which  had  been  destined  to  precede  and 
follow  it  brought  into  immediate  contiguity. 

This  supposition  transforms  the  universe  into  a 
dead  machine.  The  lives  and  the  souls  of  men 
become  so  indifferent,  that  the  annihilation  of  a  whole 
human  race,  or  of  many  such  races,  is  absolutely 
nothing.  Every  event  passes  away  as  it  happens, 
filling  its  place  in  the  sequence,  but  purposeless  for 
the  future.  The  order  of  all  things  becomes,  not 
merely  an  iron  rule,  from  wdiich  nothing  can  ever 
swerve,  but  an  iron  rule  which  guides  to  nothing  and 
ends  in  nothing. 

Such  a  supposition  is  possible  to  the  logical  under- 
standing ;  it  is  not  possible  to  the  spirit.     The  human 

B 


2  Tlie  Education  of  the  World. 

heart  refuses  to  believe  in  a  universe  without  a  pur- 
pose. To  the  spirit,  all  things  that  exist  must  have  a 
purpose,  and  nothing  can  pass  away  till  that  purpose 
be  fulfilled.  The  lapse  of  time  is  no  exception  to  this 
demand.  Each  moment  of  time,  as  it  passes,  is  taken 
up  in  the  shape  of  permanent  results  into  the  time 
that  follows,  and  only  perishes  by  being  converted 
into  something  more  substantial  than  itself.  A  series 
of  recurring  cycles,  however  conceivable  to  the  logical 
understanding,  is  inconceivable  to  the  spirit ;  for  every 
later  cycle  must  be  made  different  from  every  earlier 
by  the  mere  fact  of  coming  after  it  and  embodying  its 
results.  The  material  world  may  possibly  be  subject 
to  such  a  rule,  and  may,  in  successive  epochs,  be  the 
cradle  of  successive  races  of  spiritual  beings.  But  the 
world  of  spirits  cannot  be  a  mere  machine. 

In  accordance  with  this  difference  between  the 
material  and  the  spiritual  worlds,  we  ought  to  be 
prepared  to  find  progress  in  the  latter,  however  much 
fixity  there  may  be  in  the  former.  The  earth  may 
still  be  describing  precisely  the  same  orbit  as  that 
which  was  assigned  to  her  at  the  creation.  The 
seasons  may  be  precisely  the  same.  The  planets,  the 
moon,  and  the  stars,  may  be  unchanged  both  in  ap- 
pearance and  in  reality.  But  man  is  a  spiritual  as 
well  as  a  material  creature,  must  be  subject  to  the  laws 
of  the  spiritual  as  well  as  to  those  of  the  material  world, 
and  cannot  stand  still  because  things  around  him  do. 
Now,  that  the  individual  man  is  capable  of  perpetual, 
or  almost  perpetual,  development  from  the  clay  of  his 
birth  to  that  of  his  death,  is  obvious  of  course.  But 
we  may  well  expect  to  find  something  more  than  this 
in  a  spiritual  creature  who  does  not  stand  alone,  but 
forms  a  part  of  a  whole  world  of  creatures  like  himself 
Man  cannot  be  considered  as  an  individual.  He  is, 
in  reality,  only  man  by  virtue  of  his  being  a  member 
of  the  human  race.  Any  other  animal  that  we  know 
would  probably  not  be  very  different  in  its  nature  if 


The  Education  of  the  World. 


brought  up  from  its  very  birth  apart  from  all  its 
kind.  A  child  so  brought  up  becomes,  as  instances 
could  be  adduced  to  prove,  not  a  man  in  the  full  sense 
at  all,  but  rather  a  beast  in  human  shape,  with  human 
faculties,  no  doubt,  hidden  underneath,  but  with  no 
hope  in  this  life  of  ever  developing  those  faculties  into 
true  humanity.  If,  then,  the  whole  in  this  case,  as  in 
so  many  others,  is  prior  to  the  parts,  we  may  con- 
clude, that  we  are  to  look  for  that  progress  which  is 
essential  to  a  spiritual  being  subject  to  the  lapse  of 
time,  not  only  in  the  individual,  but  also  quite  as 
much  in  the  race  taken  as  a  whole.  We  may  expect 
to  find,  in  the  history  of  man,  each  successive  age  in- 
corporating into  itself  the  substance  of  the  preceding. 

Tliis  power,  whereby  the  present  ever  gathers  into  ' 
itself  the  results  of  the  past,  transforms  the  human 
race  into  a  colossal  man,  whose  life  reaches  from  the 
creation  to  the  day  of  judgment.  The  successive 
generations  of  men  are  days  in  this  man's  life.  The 
discoveries  and  inventions  which  characterize  the  dif- 
ferent epochs  of  the  world's  history  are  his  works. 
The  creeds  and  doctrines,  the  opinions  and  principles 
of  the  successive  ages,  are  his  thoughts.  The  state  of 
societ}^  at  difterent  times  are  his  manners.  He  grows 
in  knowledge,  in  self-control,  in  visible  size,  just  as  we 
do.  And  his  education  is  in  the  same  way  and  for 
the  same  reason  precisely  similar  to  ours. 

All  this  is  no  figure  but  only  a  compendious  state- 
ment of  a  very  comprehensive  fact.     The  child  that  is 
born  to-day  may  possibly  have    the    same    faculties'^ 
as  if  he  had  been  born  in  the  days  of  Noah ;  if  it  be 
otherwise,  we  possess  no  means  of  determining  the  / 
difference.     But  the  equality  of  the  natural  faculties 
at  starting  will  not  prevent  a  vast  difference  in  their 
ultimate  development.     That  development  is  entirely  \ 
under  the  control  of  the   influences  exerted  by  the 
society  in  w^hich  the  child  may  chance  to  live.     If  J 
such  society  be  altogether  denied,  the  faculties  perish, 

B  a 


■CiC 


\}^       V        V 


o*^ 


4  T/ie  Bducalion  of  the  World. 

and  the  child  (as  remarked  above)  grows  up  a  beast 
and  not  a  man  ;  if  the  society  be  uneducated  and 
coarse,  the  growth  of  the  faculties  is  early  so  stunted 
as  never  afterwards  to  be  capable  of  recovery  ;  if  the 
society  be  highly  cultivated,  the  child  will  be  culti- 
vated also,  and  will  show,  more  or  less,  through  life, 
the  fruits  of  that  cultivation.  Hence  each  generation 
receives  the  benefit  of  the  cultivation  of  that  which 
preceded  it.  Not  in  knowledge  only  but  in  develop- 
ment of  powers,  the  child  of  twelve  now  stands  at  the 
level  where  once  stood  the  child  of  fourteen,  where 
ages  ago  stood  the  full-grown  man.  The  discipline 
of  manners,  of  temper,  of  thought,  of  feeling,  is  trans- 
mitted from  generation  to  generation,  and  at  each 
transmission  there  is  an  imperceptible  but  unfailing 
increase.  The  perpetual  accumulation  of  the  stores 
of  knowledge  is  so  much  more  visible  than  the  change 
in  the  other  ingredients  of  human  progress,  that  we 
are  apt  to  fancy  that  knowledge  grows  and  knowledge 
only.  I  shall  not  stop  to  examine  whether  it  be  true 
(as  is  sometimes  maintained)  that  all  progress  in 
human  society  is  but  the  effect  of  the  progress  of 
knowledge.  For  the  present  it  is  enough  to  point 
out  that  knowledge  is  not  the  only  possession  of  the 
human  spirit  in  which  progress  can  be  traced. 
j  We  may,  then,  rightly  speak  of  a  childhood,  a 
I  youth,  and  a  manhood  of  the  world.  The  men  of  the 
earliest  ages  were,  in  many  respects,  still  children  as 
compared  with  ourselves,  with  all  the  blessings  and  with 
all  the  disadvantages  that  belong  to  childhood.  We 
reap  the  fruits  of  their  toil,  and  bear  in  our  characters 
the  impress  of  their  cultivation.  Our  characters  have 
grown  out  of  their  history,  as  the  character  of  the  man 
grows  out  of  the  history  of  the  child.  There  are 
matters  in  which  the  simplicity  of  ehildhood  is  wiser 
than  the  maturity  of  manhood,  and  in  these  they  were 
wiser  than  we.  There  are  matters  in  which  the  child 
is  nothing,  and  the  man  everything,  and  in  these  we 


The  Ediicatio7i  of  ilie  World.  5 

are  the  gainers.  And  tlie  process  bj  which  we  have 
either  lost  or  gained  corresponds,  stage  by  stage,  with 
the  process  by  which  the  infant  is  trained  for  youth, 
and  the  youth  for  manhood. 

This  training  has  three  stages.  In  childhood  we 
are  subject  to  positive  rules  which  we  cannot  under- 
stand, but  are  bound  implicitly  to  obey.  In  youth 
we  are  subject  to  the  influence  of  example,  and  soon 
break  loose  from  all  rules  unless  illustrated  and 
enforced  by  the  higher  teaching  which  example  im- 
parts. In  manhood  we  are  comparatively  free  from 
external  restraints,  and  if  we  are  to  learn,  must  be  our 
own  instructors.  First  come  Eules,then  Examples,  then 
Principles.  First  comes  the  Law,  then  the  Son  of 
Man,  then  the  Gift  of  the  Spirit.  The  world  was 
once  a  child  under  tutors  and  governors  until  the 
time  appointed  by  the  Father.  Then,  wlien  the  fit 
season  had  arrived,  the  Example  to  which  all  ages 
should  turn  was  sent  to  teach  men  what  they  ought 
to  be.  Then  the  human  race  was  left  to  itself  to  be 
guided  by  the  teacliing  of  the  Spirit  within. 

The  education  of  the  world,  like  that  of  the  child, 
begins  with  Law.  It  is  impossible  to  explain  the 
reasons  of  all  the  commands  that  you  give  to  a  child, 
and  you  do  not  endeavour  to  do  so.  When  he  is  to 
go  to  bed,  when  he  is  to  get  up,  how  he  is  to  sit, 
stand,  eat,  drink,  what  answers  he  is  to  make  when 
spoken  to,  what  he  may  touch  and  what  he  may  not, 
what  prayers  he  shall  say  and  when,  what  lessons  he 
is  to  learn,  every  detail  of  manners  and  of  conduct 
the  careful  mother  teaches  her  child,  and  requires 
implicit  obedience.  Mingled  together  in  her  teaching 
are  commands  of  the  most  trivial  character  and  com- 
mands of  the  gravest  importance  ;  their  relative  value 
marked  by  a  difference  of  manner  rather  than  by  any- 
thing else,  since  to  explain  it  is  impossible.  Mean- 
while to  the  child  obedience  is  the  highest  duty, 
affection  the  highest  stimulus,  the  mother's  word  the 


6  The  Ediicatio?i  of  the  Woild. 

highest  sanction.  The  conscience  is  alive,  but  it  is, 
like  the  other  faculties  of  that  age,  irregular,  unde- 
veloped, easily  deceived.  The  mother  does  not  leave 
it  uncultivated,  nor  refuse  sometimes  to  explain  her 
motives  for  commanding  or  forbidding  ;  but  she  never 
thinks  of  putting  the  judgment  of  the  child  against 
her  own,  nor  of  considering  the  child's  conscience  as 
having  a  right  to  free  action. 

As  the  child  grows  older  the  education  changes  its 
character,  not  so  much  in  regard  to  the  sanction  of  its 
precepts  as  in  regard  to  their  tenor.  More  stress  is 
laid  upon  matters  of  real  duty,  less  upon  matters  of 
mere  manner.  Falsehood,  quarrelling,  bad-temper, 
greediness,  indolence,  are  more  attended  to  than  times 
of  going  to  bed,  or  fashions  of  eating,  or  postures  in 
sitting.  The  boy  is  allowed  to  feel,  and  to  show  that 
he  feels,  the  difference  between  different  commands. 
But  he  is  still  not  left  to  himself :  and  though  points 
of  manner  are  not  put  on  a  level  with  points  of  con- 
duct, they  are  by  no  means  neglected.  Moreover, 
while  much  stress  is  laid  upon  his  deeds,  little  is  laid 
upon  his  opinions  ;  he  is  rightly  supposed  not  to  have 
any,  and  will  not  be  allowed  to  plead  them  as  a  reason 
for  disobedience. 

After  a  time,  however,  the  intellect  begins  to  assert 
a  right  to  enter  into  all  questions  of  duty,  and  the 
intellect  accordingly  is  cultivated.  The  reason  is  ap- 
pealed to  in  all  questions  of  conduct :  the  conse- 
quences of  folly  or  sin  are  pointed  out,  and  the 
punishment  which,  without  any  miracle,  God  invariably 
brings  upon  those  who  disobey  His  natural  laws — 
how,  for  instance,  falsehood  destro3^s  confidence  and 
incurs  contempt ;  how  indulgence  in  appetite  tends  to 
brutal  and  degrading  habits  j  how  ill-temper  may  end 
in  crime,  and  must  end  in  mischief.  Thus  the  con- 
science is  reached  through  the  understanding. 

Now,  precisely  analogous  to  all  this  is  the  history 
of  the  education  of  the   early  world.      The  earliest 


The  Educatioti  of  the  World.  7 

commands  almost  entirely  refer  to  bodily  appetites 
and  animal  passions.  The  earliest  wide-spread  sin 
was  brutal  violence.  That  wilfulness  of  temper, 
— those  germs  of  wanton  cruelty,  which  the  mother 
corrects  so  easily  in  her  infant,  were  developed  in 
the  earliest  form  of  human  society  into  a  prevailing- 
plague  of  wickedness.  The  few  notices  which  are  given 
of  that  state  of  mankind  do  not  present  a  picture  of 
mere  lawlessness,  such  as  we  find  among  the  medieval 
nations  of  Europe,  but  of  blind,  gross  ignorance  of 
themselves  and  all  around  them.  Atheism  is  possible 
now,  but  Lamech's  presumptuous  comparison  of  him- 
self with  Grod  is  impossible,  and  the  thought  of 
building  a  tower  high  enough  to  escape  Gfod's  wrath 
could  enter  no  man's  dreams.  We  sometimes  see  in 
very  little  children  a  violence  of  temper  which  seems 
hardly  human :  add  to  such  a  temper  the  strength  of 
a  full-grown  man,  and  we  shall  perhaps  understand 
what  is  meant  by  the  expression,  that  the  earth  was 
filled  with  violence. 

Violence  was  followed  by  sensuality.  Such  was 
the  sin  of  Noah,  Ham,  Sodom,  Lot's  daughters,  and 
the  guilty  Canaanites.  Animal  appetites — the  appe- 
tites which  must  be  subdued  in  childhood  if  they  are 
to  be  subdued  at  all — were  still  the  temptation  oi 
mankind.  Such  sins  are,  it  is  true,  prevalent  in  the 
world  even  now.  But  the  peculiarity  of  these  early 
forms  of  licentiousness  is  their  utter  disregard  of 
every  kind  of  restraint,  and  this  constitutes  their 
childish  character. 

The  education  of  this  early  race  may  strictly  be 
said  to  begin  when  it  was  formed  into  the  various 
masses  out  of  which  the  nations  of  the  earth  have 
sprung.  The  world,  as  it  were,  went  to  school,  and 
was  broken  up  into  classes.  Before  that  time  it  can 
hardly  be  said  that  any  great  precepts  had  been  given. 
The  only  commands  which  claim  an  earlier  date  are  the 
prohibitions  of  murder  and  of  eating  blood.      An6. 


8  TJie  Education  of  the  World. 

these  may  be  considered  as  given  to  all  alike.  But 
the  whole  lesson  of  humanity  was  too  much  to  be 
learned  by  all  at  once.  Different  parts  of  it  fell  to  the 
task  of  different  parts  of  the  human  race,  and  for  a 
lono-  time,  thoug-h  the  education  of  the  world  flowed 
in  parallel  channels,  it  did  not  form  a  single  stream. 

The  Jewish  nation,  selected  among  all  as  the 
depository  of  what  may  be  termed,  in  a  pre-eminent 
sense,  religious  truth,  received  after  a  short  prepara- 
tion, the  Mosaic  system.  This  system  is  a  mixture 
of  moral  and  positive  commands :  the  latter,  precise 
and  particular,  ruling  the  customs,  the  festivals,  the 
worship,  the  daily  food,  the  dress,  the  very  touch ;  the 
former  large,  clear,  simple,  peremptory.  There  is 
very  little  directly  spiritual.  No  freedom  of  conduct 
or  of  opinion  is  allowed.  The  difference  between  dif- 
ferent precepts  is  not  forgotten  ;  nor  is  all  natural 
judgment  in  morals  excluded.  But  the  reason  for  all 
the  minute  commands  is  never  given.  Wliy  they 
may  eat  the  sheep  and  not  the  pig  they  are  not  told. 
The  commands  are  not  confined  to  general  principles, 
but  run  into  such  details  as  to  forbid  tattooing  or  dis- 
figuring the  person,  to  command  the  wearing  of  a 
blue  fringe,  and  the  like.  That  such  commands 
should  be  sanctioned  by  divine  authority  is  utterly 
irreconcileable  with  our  present  feelings.  But  in  the 
Mosaic  system  the  same  peremptory  legislation  deals 
with  all  these  matters,  whether  important  or  trivial. 
The  fact  is,  that  however  trivial  they  might  be  in 
relation  to  the  authority  which  they  invoked,  they  were 
not  trivial  in  relation  to  the  people  who  were  to  be 
governed  and  taught. 

The  teaching  of  the  Law  was  followed  by  the  com- 
ments of  the  Prophets.  It  is  impossible  to  mistake 
the  complete  change  of  tone  and  spirit.  The  ordi- 
nances indeed  remain,  and  the  obligation  to  observe 
them  is  always  assumed.  But  they  have  sunk  to  the 
second  place.      The  national  attention  is  distinctly 


TJie  Education  of  the  World.  9 

fixed  on  the  higher  precepts.  Disregard  of  the  ordi- 
nances is,  in  fact,  rarely  noticed,  in  comparison  with 
breaches  of  the  great  human  laws  of  love  and  brotherly 
kindness,  of  truth  and  justice.  There  are  but  two 
sins  against  the  ceremonial  law  which  receive  marked 
attention — idolatry"  and  sabbath-breaking ;  and  these 
do  not  occupy  a  third  of  the  space  devoted  to  the 
denunciation  of  cruelty  and  oppression,  of  mal- 
administration of  justice,  of  impurity  and  intem- 
perance. Nor  is  the  change  confined  to  the  precepts 
enforced  :  it  extends  to  the  sanction  which  enforces 
them.  Throughout  the  Prophets  there  is  an  evident 
reference  to  the  decision  of  individual  conscience, 
which  can  rarely  be  found  in  the  Books  of  Moses.j 
Sometimes,  as  in  Ezekiel's  comment  on  the  Second 
Commandment,  a  distinct  appeal  is  made  from  the 
letter  of  the  law  to  the  voice  of  natural  equity. 
Sometimes,  as  in  the  opening  of  Isaiah,  the  ceremo- 
nial sacrifices  are  condemned  for  the  sins  of  those  who 
offered  them.  Or,  again,  fasting  is  spiritualized  into 
self-denial.  And  the  tone  taken  in  this  teaching  is 
such  as  to  imply  a  previous  breach,  not  so  much  of 
positive  commands,  as  of  natural  morality.  It  is 
assumed  that  the  hearer  will  find  within  himself  a 
sufficient  sanction  for  the  precepts.  It  is  no  longer, 
as  in  the  law,  '  I  am  the  Lord ;'  but,  '  Hath  not  he 
showed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good  ?'  And  hence  the 
style  becomes  argumentative  instead  of  peremptory, 
and  the  teacher  pleads  instead  of  dogmatizing.  In 
the  meanwhile,  however,  no  hint  is  ever  given  of  a 
permission  to  dispense  with  the  ordinances  even  in 
the  least  degree.  The  child  is  old  enough  to  under- 
stand, but  not  old  enough  to  be  left  to  himself  He 
is  not  yet  a  man.  He  must  still  conform  to  the  rules 
of  his  father's  house,  whether  or  not  those  rules  suit 
his  temper  or  approve  themselves  to  his  judgment. 

The  comments  of  the  Prophets  were  followed  in 
their  turn  by  the  great  Lesson  of  the  Captivity.  Then 


10  The  Education  of  the  World. 

for  the  first  time  the  Jews  learned,  what  that  Law  and 
the  Prophets  had  been  for  centuries  vainly  endea- 
vouring to  teach  them,  namely,  to  abandon  for  ever 
polytheism  and  idolatry.  But  though  this  change  in 
their  national  habits  and  character  is  unmistakeable, 
it  might  seem  at  first  sight  as  if  it  were  no  more  than 
an  external  and  superficial  amendment,  and  that  their 
growth  in  moral  and  spiritual  clearness,  though  trace- 
able with  certainty  up  to  this  date,  at  any  rate 
received  a  check  afterwards.  For  it  is  undeniable 
that,  in  the  time  of  our  Lord,  the  Sadducees  had 
lost  all  depth  of  spiritual  feeling,  while  the  Pharisees 
had  succeeded  in  converting  the  Mosaic  system 
into  so  mischievous  an  idolatry  of  forms,  that  St. 
Paul  does  not  hesitate  to  call  the  law  the  strength 
of  sin.  But  in  spite  of  this  it  is  nevertheless  clear 
that  even  the  Pharisaic  teaching  contained  elements 
of  a  more  spiritual  religion  than  the  original  Mosaic 
system.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  importance  attached 
by  the  Pharisees  to  prayer  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  law. 
The  worship  under  the  law  consisted  almost  entirely 
of  sacrifices.  With  the  sacrifices  we  may  presume  that 
prayer  was  always  offered,  but  it  was  not  positively 
commanded ;  and,  as  a  regular  and  necessary  part  of 
worship,  it  first  appears  in  the  later  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  is  never  even  there  so  earnestly  insisted 
upon  as  afterwards  by  the  Pharisees.  It  was  in  fact 
in  the  captivity,  far  from  the  temple  and  the  sacrifices 
of  the  temple,  that  the  Jewish  people  first  learned  that 
the  spiritual  part  of  worship  could  be  separated  from 
the  ceremonial,  and  that  of  the  two  the  spiritual  was 
far  the  higher.  The  first  introduction  of  preaching 
and  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  the  synagogues 
belong  to  the  same  date.  The  careful  study  of  the 
law,  though  it  degenerated  into  formality,  was  yet  in 
itself  a  more  intellectual  service  than  the  earlier 
records  exhibit.  And  this  study  also,  though  com- 
mencing earlier,  attains  its  maximum  after  the  cap- 


The  Education  of  the  World.  11 

tivity ;  the  Psalmists  who  delight  in  the  study  of  the 
law  are  all,  or  nearly  all,  much  later  than  David ;  and 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  the  study  is  praised  in- 
creases as  we  come  down.  In  short,  the  Jewish  nation 
had  lost  very  much  when  John  the  Baptist  came  to 
prepare  the  way  for  his  Master ;  hut  time  had  not 
stood  still,  nor  had  that  course  of  education  whereby 
the  Jew  was  to  be  fitted  to  give  the  last  revelation 
to  the  world. 

The  results  of  this  discipline  of  the  Jewish  nation ' 
may  be  summed  up  in  two  points — a  settled  national 
belief  in  the  unity  and   spirituality  of  God,  and  an 
acknowledgment    of    the   paramount    importance    of 
chastity  as  a  point  of  morals. 

The  conviction  of  the  unity  and  spirituality  of  God 
was  peculiar  to  the  Jews  among  the  pioneers  of  civili- 
zation. Greek  philosophers  had,  no  doubt,  come  to 
the  same  conclusion  by  dint  of  reason.  Noble  minds 
may  often  have  been  enabled  to  raise  themselves  to  the 
same  height  in  moments  of  generous  emotion.  But 
every  one  knows  the  difference  between  an  opinion 
and  a  practical  conviction — between  a  scientific  deduc- 
tion or  a  momentary  insight  and  that  habit  which 
has  become  second  nature.  Every  one,  also,  knows 
the  difference  between  a  tenet  maintained  by  a  few 
intellectual  men  far  in  advance  of  their  asfe,  and  a 
belief  pervading  a  whole  people,  penetrating  all  their 
daily  life,  leavening  all  their  occupations,  incorporated 
into  their  very  language.  To  the  great  mass  of  the 
Gentiles  at  the  time  of  our  Lord,  polytheism  was  the 
natural  posture  of  the  thoughts  into  which  their 
minds    unconsciously  settled   when  undisturbed    by  ,    -7 

doubt  or  difficulties.  To  every  Jew,  without  excep-  -,-  '"^^  - 
tion,  monotheism  was  equally  natural.  To  the  Gen- 
tile, even  when  converted,  it  was,  for  some  time,  still 
an  effort  to  abstain  from  idols ;  to  the  Jew  it  was  no 
more  an  effort  than  it  is  to  us.  The  bent  of  the 
Jewish  mind  was,  in  fact,  so  fixed  by  their  previous 


U  ^^" 


J,Jl 


12  T/ie  Education  of  the  World. 

training  that  it  would  have  required  a  perpetual  and 
difficult  strain  to  enable  a  Jew  to  join  in  such  folly. 
A¥e  do  not  readily  realize  how  hard  this  was  to 
acquire,  because  we  have  never  had  to  acquire  it :  and 
in  reading  the  Old  Testament  we  look  on  the  repeated 
idolatries  of  the  chosen  people  as  wilful  backslidings 
from  an  elementary  truth  within  the  reach  of  children, 
rather  than  as  stumblings  in  learning  a  very  difficult 
lesson — difficult  even  for  cultivated  men.  In  reality, 
elementary  truths  are  the  hardest  of  all  to  learn,  un- 
less we  pass  our  childhood  in  an  atmosj)here 
thoroughly  impregnated  with  them ;  and  then  we 
imbibe  them  unconsciously,  and  find  it  difficult  to 
perceive  their  difficulty. 

It  was  the  fact  that  this  belief  was  not  the  tenet  of 
the  few,  but  the  habit  of  the  nation,  which  made  the 
Jews  the  proper  instruments  for  communicating  the 
doctrine  to  the  world.  They  supported  it,  not  by 
arguments,  which  always  provoke  replies,  and  rarely, 
at  the  best,  penetrate  deeper  than  the  intellect ;  but 
by  the  unconscious  evidence  of  their  lives.  They 
supplied  that  spiritual  atmosphere  in  which  alone  the 
faith  of  new  converts  could  attain  to  vigorous  life. 
They  supplied  forms  of  language  and  expressions  fit 
for  immediate  and  constant  use.  They  supplied  devo- 
tions to  fill  the  void  which  departed  idolatry  left  be- 
hind. The  rapid  spread  of  the  Primitive  Church, 
and  the  depth  to  which  it  struck  its  roots  into  the 
decaying  society  of  the  Homan  Empire,  are  unques- 
tionably due,  to  a  great  extent,  to  the  body  of  Jewish 
proselytes  already  established  in  every  important 
city,  and  to  the  existence  of  the  Old  Testament  as  a 
ready-made  text-book  of  devotion  and  instruction. 

Side  by  side  with  this  freedom  from  idolatry  there 
liad  grown  up  in  the  Jewish  mind  a  chaster  morality 
than  was  to  be  found  elsewhere  in  the  world.  There 
were  many  points,  undoubtedl}^,  in  which  the  early 
morality  of  the  Greeks  and  Eomans  would  well  bear 


Tlie  Education  of  the  World.  13 

a  comparison  with  that  of  the  Hebrews.  Tn  sim- 
-plicit}^  of  life,  in  gentleness  of  character,  in  warmth 
of  sympathy,  in  kindness  to  the  poor,  in  justice  to  all 
men,  the  Hebrews  could  not  have  rivalled  the  best  '' 
days  of  Greece.  In  reverence  for  law,  in  reality  of  obe- 
dience, in  calmness  under  trouble,  in  dignity  of  self- 
respect,  they  could  not  have  rivalled  the  best  daj^s  of 
Itome.  But  the  sins  of  the  flesh  corrupted  both  these 
races,  and  the  flower  of  their  finest  virtues  had 
withered  before  the  time  of  our  Lord.  In  chastity 
the  Hebrews  stood  alone  ;  and  this  virtue,  which  had 
grown  up  with  them  from  their  earliest  days,  was 
still  in  the  vigour  of  fresh  life  when  they  were  com- 
missioned to  give  the  Gospel  to  the  nations.  The 
Hebrew  morality  has  passed  into  the  Christian 
Church,  and  sins  of  impurity  (which  war  against  the 
soul)  have  ever  since  been  looked  on  as  the  type  of 
all  evil ;  and  our  Litany  selects  them  as  the  example 
of  deadly  sin.  "What  sort  of  morality  the  Gentiles 
would  have  handed  down  to  us,  had  they  been  left 
to  themselves,  is  clear  from  the  Epistles.  The  excesses 
of  the  Gentile  party  at  Corinth  (i  Cor.  v.  2),  the  first 
warning  given  to  the  Thessalonians  (i  Thes.  iv.  3), 
the  first  warning  given  to  the  Galatians  (Gal.  v.  19), 
the  description  of  the  Gentile  world  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  are  sufficient  indications  of  the  prevail- 
ing Gentile  sin.  But  St.  James,  writing  to  the 
Hebrew  Christians,  says  not  a  word  upon  the  subject, 
and  St.  Peter  barely  alludes  to  it. 

The  idea  of  monotheism  and  the  principle  of  V 
purity  might  seem  hardly  enough  to  be  the  chief 
results  of  so  systematic  a  discipline  as  that  of  the 
Hebrews.  But,  in  reality,  they  are  the  cardinal  points 
in  education.  The  idea  of  monotheism  outtops  all 
other  ideas  in  dignity  and  worth.  The  spirituality  of 
God  involves  in  it  the  supremacy  of  conscience,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  the  final  judgment  of  the 
human  race.     For  we  know  the  other  world,  and  can 


14  TJie  Education  of  the  World. 

only  know  it,  by  analogy,  drawn  from  our  own  expe- 
rience. With,  what,  then,  shall  we  compare  God? 
With  the  spiritual  or  the  fleshly  part  of  our  nature?  On 
the  answer  depends  the  wliole  bent  of  our  religion  and 
of  our  morality.  For  that  in  ourselves  which  we 
choose  as  the  nearest  analogy  of  God,  will,  of  course, 
be  looked  on  as  the  ruling  and  lasting  part  of  our 
being.  If  He  be  one  and  spiritual,  then  the  spiritual 
power  within  us,  which  proclaims  its  own  unity  and 
independence  of  matter  by  the  universality  of  its 
decrees,  must  be  the  rightful  monarch  of  our  lives;  but 
if  there  be  Gods  many  and  Lords  many,  with  bodily 
appetites  and  animal  passions,  then  the  voice  of  con- 
science is  but  one  of  those  wide-spread  delusions 
which,  some  for  a  longer,  some  for  a  shorter  period, 
have,  before  now,  misled  our  race.  Again,  the  same 
importance  which  we  assign  to  monotheism  as  a  creed, 
we  must  assign  to  chastity  as  a  virtue.  Among  all 
the  vices  which  it  is  necessary  to  subdue  in  order  to 
build  up  the  human  character,  there  is  none  to  be 
compared  in  strength,  or  in  virulence,  with  that  of 
impurity.  It  can  outlive  and  kill  a  thousand  virtues  ; 
it  can  corrupt  the  most  generous  heart ;  it  can  madden 
the  soberest  intellect ;  it  can  debase  the  loftiest  imagi- 
nation. But,  besides  being  so  poisonous  in  character, 
it  is  above  all  others  most  difficult  to  conquer.  And 
the  people  whose  extraordinary  toughness  of  nature  has 
enabled  it  to  outlive  Egyptian  Pharaohs,  and  Assyrian 
kings,  and  Roman  Csesars,  and  Mussulman  caliphs, 
was  well  matched  against  a  power  of  evil  which  has 
battled  with  the  human  spirit  ever  since  the  creation, 
and  has  inflicted,  and  may  yet  inflict,  more  deadly 
blows  than  any  other  power  we  know  of. 

Such  was  the  training  of  the  Hebrews.  Other  na- 
tions meanwhile  had  a  training  parallel  to  and  con- 
temporaneous with  theirs.  The  natural  religions, 
shadows  projected  by  the  spiritual  light  within  shining 
on  the   dark   problems  without,  were   aU    in  reality 


The  Education  of  the  World.  1 5 

systems  of  Law,  given  also  by  God,  though  not  given 
by  Revelation,  but  by  tlie  working  of  nature,  and  con- 
sequently so  distorted  and  adulterated  that  in  lapse 
of  time  the  divine  element  in  them  had  almost 
perished.  The  poetical  gods  of  Greece,  the  legendary 
gods  of  Rome,  the  animal  worship  of  Egypt,  the  sun 
worship  of  the  East,  all  accompanied  by  systems  of 
law  and  civil  government,  springing  from  the  same 
sources  as  themselves,  namely,  the  character  and 
temper  of  the  several  nations,  were  the  means  of 
educating  these  people  to  similar  purposes  in  the 
economy  of  Providence  to  that  for  which  the  Hebrews 
were  destined. 

When  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  was  first  sown,  the 
field  which  had  been  prepared  to  receive  it  may  be 
divided  into  four  chief  divisions,  Rome,  Greece,  Asia, 
and  Judea,  Each  of  these  contributed  something  to 
the  growth  of  the  future  Church.  And  the  growth 
of  the  Church  is,  in  this  case,  the  development  of  the 
human  race.  It  cannot  indeed  yet  be  said  that  all 
humanity  has  united  into  one  stream ;  but  the 
Christian  nations  have  so  unquestionably  taken  the 
lead  amongst  their  fellows,  that  although  it  is  likely 
enough  the  unconverted  peoples  may  have  a  real  part 
to  play,  that  part  must  be  plainly  quite  subordinate  ; 
subordinate  in  a  sense  in  which  neither  Rome,  nor 
Greece,  nor  perhaps  even  Asia,  was  subordinate  to 
Judea. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  chief  elements  of 
civilization  which  we  owe  to  each  of  the  four.  Rome 
contributed  her  admirable  spirit  of  order  and  organi- 
zation. To  her  had  been  given  the  genius  of  govern- 
ment. She  had  been  trained  to  it  by  centuries  of 
difficult  and  tumultuous  history.  Storms  which  would 
have  rent  asunder  the  framework  of  any  other  polity 
only  practised  her  in  the  art  of  controlling  popular 
passions ;  and  when  she  began  to  aim  consciously 
at  the  Empire  of  the  World,  she  had  already  learned 


16  The  Education  of  tJie  World. 

her  lesson.     She  had  learned  it  as  the  Hebrews  had 
learned  theirs,  by  an  enforced  obedience  to  her  own 
system.     In  no  nation  of  antiquity  had   civil   officers 
the  same  unquestioned  authority  during  their  term  of 
office,  or  laws  and  judicial  rules  the  same  reverence. 
That  which  religion  was  to  the  Jew,  including  even 
the  formalism  which  encrusted  and  fettered  it,  law  was 
to  the  Roman.     And  law  was  the  lesson  which  Eome 
was  intended  to  teach  the  world.     Hence  the  Bishop  of 
Kome  soon  became  the  Head  of  the  Church.     Eome 
was,  in  fact,  the   centre  of  the  traditions  which  had 
once  governed  the  world  ;    and    their   spirit  still  re- 
mained ;  and  the  Roman  Church  developed  into  the 
papacy  simply  because   a  head  was   wanted,  and  no 
better  one  could  be  found.     Hence   again  in  all  the 
doctrinal  disputes  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  centuries  the 
decisive  voice  came  from  Rome.  Every  controversy  was 
finally  settled  by  her  opinion,  because  she  alone  possessed 
the  art  of  framing  formulas  which  could  hold  together 
in  any  reasonable  measure  the  endless  variety  of  sen- 
timents and  feelings  which  the  Church  by  that  time 
comprised.     It  was  this  power  of  administering  law 
which   enabled  the  Western   Church,  in  the  time  of 
Charlemagne,  to  undertake,  by  means  of  her  bishops,  the 
task  of  training  and  civilizing  the  new  population  of 
Europe.     To  Rome  we  owe  the  forms  of  local  govern- 
ment which  in  England  have  saved  liberty  and  else- 
where have   mitigated  despotism.      Justinian's   laws 
have  penetrated  into  all  modern  legislation,  and  almost 
all  improvements  brhig  us   only  nearer  to  his  cpd». 
Much  of   the  spirit   of  modern   politics    came    from 
Greece  ;  much  from  the  woods  of  Germany.     But  the 
skeleton  and  framework   is  almost   entirely   Roman. 
And  it  is  not  this  framework  only  that  comes  from 
Rome.     The   moral   sentiments   and  the  moral  force 
which  lie  at  the  back  of  all  political  life  and  are  abso- 
lutely indispensable  to  its  vigour  are  in  great  measure 
Roman  too.     It  is  true  that  the  life  and  power  of  all 


The  Education  of  the  JForld.  17 

morality  whatever  will  always  be  drawn  from  the  New 
Testament ;  yet  it  is  in  the  history  of  Rome  rather 
than  in  the  Bible  that  we  find  our  models  and  pre- 
cepts of  political  duty,  and  especially  of  the  duty  of 
patriotism.  St.  Paul  bids  us  follow  whatsoever  things 
are  lovely,  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report.  But 
except  through  such  general  appeals  to  natural  feeling 
it  would  be  difficult  to  prove  from  the  New  Testament 
that  cowardice  was  not  only  disgraceful  but  sinful, 
and  that  love  of  our  country  was  an  exalted  duty  of 
humanity.  That  lesson  our  consciences  have  learnt 
from  the  teaching  of  Ancient  Bome. 

To  Grreece  was  entrusted  the  cultivation  of  the 
reason  and  the  taste.  Her  gift  to  mankind  has 
been  science  and  art.  There  was  little  in  her  temper 
of  the  spirit  of  reverence.  Her  morality  and  her 
religion  did  not  spring  from  the  conscience.  Her 
gods  were  the  creatures  of  imagination,  not  of  spiritual 
need.  Her  highest  idea  was,  not  holiness,  as  with  the 
Hebrews,  nor  law,  as  with  the  Eomans,  but  beauty. 
Even  Aristotle,  who  assuredly  gave  way  to  mere 
sentiment  as  little  as  any  Grreek  that  ever  lived, 
placed  the  Beautiful  (to  koXov)  at  the  head  of  his  moral 
system,  not  the  Eight,  nor  the  Holy.  Greece,  in  fact, 
was  not  looking  at  another  world,  nor  even  striving 
to  organize  the  present,  but  rather  aiming  at  the 
development  of  free  nature.  The  highest  possible 
cultivation  of  the  individual,  the  most  finished  per- 
fection of  the  natural  faculties,  was  her  dream.  It  is 
true  that  her  philosophers  are  ever  talking  of  subordi- 
nating the  individual  to  the  state.  But  in  reality 
there  never  has  been  a  period  in  history  nor  a  country 
in  the  world,  in  which  the  peculiarities  of  individual 
temper  and  character  had  freer  play.  This  is  not  the 
best  atmosphere  for  political  action  ;  but  it  is  better 
than  any  other  for  giving  vigour  and  life  to  the  im- 
pulses of  genius,  and  for  cultivating  those  faculties,  the 
reason  and  taste,  in  which  the  highest  genius  can  be 

c 


18  The  Education  of  the  World. 

shown.  Such  a  cultivation  needs  discipline  less  than 
any.  And  of  all  the  nations  Greece  had  the  least  of 
systematic  discipline,  least  of  instinctive  deference  to 
any  one  leading  idea.  But  for  the  same  reason  the 
cultivation  required  less  time  than  any  other  ;  and  the 
national  life  of  Grreece  is  the  shortest  of  all.  Greek 
history  hardly  begins  before  Solon,  and  it  hardly 
continues  after  Alexander,  barely  covering  200  years. 
But  its  fruits  are  eternal.  To  the  Greeks  we  owe  the 
logic  which  has  ruled  the  minds  of  all  thinkers  since. 
All  our  natural  and  physical  science  really  begins 
with  the  Greeks,  and  indeed  would  have  been  im- 
possible had  not  Greece  taught  men  how  to  reason. 
To  the  Greeks  we  owe  the  corrective  which  conscience 
needs  to  borrow  from  nature.  Conscience,  startled  at 
the  awful  truths  which  she  has  to  reveal,  too  often 
threatens  to  withdraw  the  soul  into  gloomy  and  per- 
verse asceticism :  then  is  needed  the  beauty  which 
Greece  taught  us  to  admire,  to  show  us  another  aspect 
of  the  Divine  Attributes.  To  the  Greeks  we  owe 
all  modern  literature.  For  though  there  is  other 
literature  even  older  than  the  Greek,  the  Asiatic  for 
instance,  and  the  Hebrew,  yet  we  did  not  learn  this 
lesson  from  them  :  they  had  not  the  genial  life  which 
was  needed  to  kindle  other  nations  with  the  commu- 
nication of  their  own  fire. 

The  discipline  of  Asia  was  the  never-ending  succes- 
sion of  conquering  dynasties,  following  in  each  other's 
track  like  waves,  an  ever  moving  yet  never  advancing 
ocean.  Cycles  of  change  were  successively  passing 
over  her,  and  yet  at  the  end  of  every  cycle  she  stood 
where  she  had  stood  before,  and  nearly  where  she  stands. 
now.  The  growth  of  Europe  has  dwarfed  her  in  com- 
parison, and  she  is  paralysed  in  presence  of  a  gigantic 
strength  younger  but  mightier  than  her  own.  But  in 
herself  she  is  no  weaker  than  she  ever  was.  The 
monarchs  who  once  led  Assyrian,  or  Babylonian,  or 
Persian  armies  across  half  the  world,  impose  on  us  by 
the  vast  extent  and  rapidity  of  their  conquests  ;  but 


.--G- 


l^ 

-^.A^ 


The  Education  of  the  World.  1 9 

these  conquests  had  hi  reahty  no  suhstance,  no  inherent 
strength.  This  perpetual  baffling  of  all  earthly  j^ro- 
gress  taught  Asia  to  seek  her  inspiration  in  rest.  She 
learned  to  fix  her  thoughts  upon  another  world,  and  was 
disciplined  to  check  by  her  silent  protest  the  over- 
earthly,  over-practical  tendency  of  the  Western  nations. 
She  was  ever  the  one  to  refuse  to  measure  Heaven  by  the 
standard  of  earth.  Her  teeming  imagination  filled  the 
Church  with  thoughts  'undreamt  of  in  our  philosophy.' 
She  had  been  the  instrument  selected  to  teach  the  He- 
brews the  doctrine  of  the  Immortality  of  the  Soul;  for 
whatever  may  be  said  of  the  early  notions  on  this  sub-  x>f^\ 
ject,  it  is  unquestionable  that  in  Babylon  the  Jews  first  (^^^  '"'^ 
attained  the  clearness  and  certainty  in  regard  to  it  which  ^'^^^-'^^jlv^^*^ 
we  find  in  the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees.  So  again,  ^^^.f^^ 
Athanasius,  a  thorough  Asiatic  in  sentiment  and  in 
mode  of  arguing,  was  the  bulwark  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity.  The  Western  nations  are  always  tempted  to 
make  reason  not  only  supreme,  but  despotic,  and  dis- 
like to  acknowledge  mysteries  even  in  religion.  They 
are  inclined  to  confine  all  doctrines  within  the  limits  of 
spiritual  utility,  and  to  refuse  to  listen  to  dim  voices 
and  whispers  from  within,  those  instincts  of  doubt,  and 
reverence,  and  awe,  which  yet  are,  in  their  place  and 
degree,  messages  from  the  depths  of  our  being.  Asia 
supplies  the  corrective  by  perpetually  leaning  to  the 
mysterious.  When  left  to  herself,  she  settles  down  to 
baseless  dreams,  and  sometimes  to  monstrous  and  re- 
volting fictions.  But  her  influence  has  never  ceased  to 
be  felt,  and  could  not  be  lost  without  serious  damage. 
Thus  the  Hebrews  may  be  said  to  have  disciplined 
the  human  conscience,  Rome  the  human  will,  Greece 
the  reason  and  taste,  Asia  the  spiritual  imagination. 
Other  races  that  have  been  since  admitted  into  Chris- 
tendom also  did  their  parts.  And  others  may  yet  have 
something  to  contribute ;  for  though  the  time  for  dis- 
cipline is  childhood,  yet  there  is  no  precise  line  beyond 
which   all  discipline  ceases.      Even   the  grey -haired 


^7\  #1  J       I    I- 


20  The  Education  of  the  World. 

man  lias  yet  some  small  capacity  for  learning  like  a 
child;  and  even  in  the  maturity  of  the  world  the  early 
modes  of  teaching  may  yet  find  a  place.  But  the 
childhood  of  the  world  was  over  when  our  Lord 
appeared  on  earth.  The  tutors  and  governors  had 
done  their  work.  It  was  time  that  the  second  teacher 
of  the  human  race  should  begin  his  labour.  The 
second  teacher  is  Example. 

The  child  is  not  insensible  to  the  influence  of  example. 
Even  in  the  earliest  years  the  manners,  the  language, 
the  principles  of  the  elder  begin  to  mould  the  character 
of  the  younger.  There  are  not  a  few  of  our  acquire- 
ments which  we  learn  by  example  without  any,  or  with 
very  little,  direct  instruction — as,  for  instance,  to  speak 
and  to  walk.  But  still  example  at  that  age  is  secondary. 
The  child  is  quite  conscious  that  he  is  not  on  such 
an  equality  with  grown-up  friends  as  to  enable  him  to 
do  as  they  do.  He  imitates,  but  he  knows  that  it  is 
merely  play,  and  he  is  quite  willing  to  be  told  that  he 
must  not  do  this  or  that  till  he  is  older.  As  time  goes 
on,  and  the  faculties  expand,  the  power  of  discipline  to 
guide  the  actions  and  to  mould  the  character  decreases, 
and  in  the  same  proportion  the  power  of  example  grows. 
The  moral  atmosphere  must  be  brutish  indeed  which 
can  do  deep  harm  to  a  child  of  four  years.  But  what 
is  harmless  at  four  is  pernicious  at  six,  and  almost  fatal 
at  twelve.  The  religious  tone  of  a  household  will  hardly 
make  much  impression  on  an  infant ;  but  it  will  deeply 
engrave  its  lessons  on  the  heart  of  a  boy  growing 
towards  manhood.  Different  faculties  within  us  begin 
to  feel  the  power  of  this  new  guide  at  different  times. 
The  moral  sentiments  are  perhaps  the  first  to  expand 
to  the  influence ;  but  gradually  the  example  of  those 
among  whom  the  life  is  cast  lays  hold  of  all  the  soul, — 
of  the  tastes,  of  the  opinions,  of  the  aims,  of  the  temper. 
As  each  restraint  of  discipline  is  successively  cast  off*, 
the  soul  does  not  gain  at  first  a  real,  but  only  an 
aj^iparent  freedom.  The  youth,  when  too  old  for  dis- 
cipline, is  not  yet  strong  enough  to  guide  his  life  by 


Tlie  Education  of  the  World.  21 

fixed  principles.  He  is  led  by  his  emotions  and 
impulses.  He  admires  and  loves,  he  condemns  and 
dislikes,  with  enthusiasm.  And  his  love  and  admira- 
tion, his  disapproval  and  dislike,  are  not  his  own,  but 
borrowed  from  his  society.  He  can  appreciate  a 
character,  though  he  cannot  yet  appreciate  a  principle. 
He  cannot  walk  by  reason  and  conscience  alone ;  he 
still  needs  those  '  supplies  to  the  imperfection  of  our 
nature  '  which  are  given  by  the  higher  passions.  He 
cannot  follow  what  his  heart  does  not  love  as  well  as 
his  reason  approve  ;  and  he  cannot  love  what  is  pre- 
sented to  him  as  an  abstract  rule  of  life,  but  requires 
a  living  person.  He  needs  to  see  virtue  in  the  concrete, 
before  he  can  recognise  her  aspect  as  a  divine  idea.  He 
instinctivel}^ copies  those  whom  he  admires,  and  in  doing 
so  imbibes  whatever  gives  the  colour  to  their  character. 
He  repeats  opinions  without  really  understanding  them, 
and  in  that  way  admits  their  infection  into  his  judg- 
ment. He  acquires  habits  which  seem  of  no  conse- 
quence, but  which  are  the  channels  of  a  thousand  new- 
impulses  to  his  soul.  If  he  reads,  he  treats  the  cha- 
racters that  he  meets  with  in  his  book  as  friends  or 
enemies,  and  so  unconsciously  allows  them  to  mould 
his  soul.  When  he  seems  most  independent,  most 
defiant  of  external  guidance,  he  is  in  reality  only  so 
much  the  less  master  of  himself,  only  so  much  the 
more  guided  and  formed,  not  indeed  by  the  will,  but  by 
the  example  and  sympathy  of  others. 

The  power  of  example  probably  never  ceases  during 
life.  Even  old  age  is  not  wholly  uninfluenced  by 
society ;  and  a  change  of  companions  acts  upon  the 
character  long  after  the  character  would  appear  in- 
capable of  further  development.  The  influence,  in 
fact,  dies  out  just  as  it  grew;  and  as  it  is  impossible 
to  mark  its  beginning,  so  is  it  to  mark  its  end.  The 
child  is  governed  by  the  will  of  its  parents  ;  the  man  by 
principles  and  habits  of  his  own.  But  neither  is  insen- 
sible to  the  influence  of  associates,  though  neither  finds 
in  that  influence  the  predominant  power  of  his  life. 


22  The  Education  of  the  World. 

This,  then,  which  is  born  with  our  birth  and  dies 
with  our  death,  attains  its  maximum  at  some  point  in 
the  passage  from  one  to  the  other.     And  this  point  is 
just  the  meeting  point  of  the  child  and  the  man,  .the 
brief  interval  which  separates  restraint  from  liberty. 
Young  men  at  this  period  are  learning  a  peculiar  lesson. 
They  seem  to  those  who  talk  to  them  to  be  imbibing 
from  their  associates  and  their  studies  principles  both 
of  faith  and  conduct.     But  the   rapid  fluctuations  of 
their  minds  show  that  their  opinions  have  not  really 
the  nature  of  principles.    They  are  really  learning,  not 
principles,  but  the   materials  out   of  which  principles 
are  made.     They  drink  in  the  lessons  of  generous  im- 
pulse,   warm    unselfishness,    courage,    self-devotion, 
romantic    disregard   of  worldly  calculations,  without 
knowing  what  are  the  grounds  of  their  own  approba- 
tion, or  caring  to  analyse  the  laws   and  ascertain  the 
limits    of    such   guides  of  conduct.      They   believe, 
without  exact  attention  to  the  evidence  of  their  belief ; 
and  their  opinions  have  accordingly  the  richness  and 
w^armth  that  belong  to  sentiment,  but  not  the  clearness 
or  firmness  that  can  be  given  by  reason.     These  afiec- 
tions,  which  are  now  kindled  in  their  hearts  by  the 
contact  of  their  fellows,  will  afterwards  be  the  reservoir 
of  life   and  light,  with  which  their  faith   and  their 
highest  conceptions  will  be  animated  and  coloured. 
The   opinions  now  picked  up,  apparently  not  really, 
at  random,  must  hereafter  give  reality  to  the  clearer 
and  more  settled  convictions  of  mature  manhood.     If 
it  were  not  for  tliese,  the  ideas  and  laws  afterwards 
supplied  by  reason  would  be  empty  forms  of  thought, 
without  body  or  substance ;    the  faith  would  run  a 
risk  of  being  the  form  of  godliness  without  the  power 
thereof.     And  hence  the  lessons  of  this  time  have  such 
an  attractiveness  in  their  warmth  and  life,  that  they 
are  very  reluctantly  exchanged  for  the  truer  and  pro- 
founder,  but  at  first    sight    colder  wisdom  which  is 
destined  to  follow  them.      To    almost  all    men  this 
period  is  a  bright  spot  to  which  the  memory  ever  after- 


The  Education  of  tie  World.  23 

wards  loves  to  recur;  and  even  those  who  can  remember 
nothing  hut  folly — folly  too  which  they  have  repented 
and  relinquished — yet  find  a  nameless  charm  in  recall- 
ing such  folly  as  that.  For  indeed  even  folly  itself  at 
this  age  is  sometimes  the  cup  out  of  which  men  quaff 
the  richest  blessings  of  our  nature — simplicity,  gene- 
rosity, affection.  This  is  the  seed  time  of  the  soul's  har- 
vest, and  contains  the  promise  of  the  year.  It  is  the 
time  for  love  and  marriasre,  the  time  for  formino-  life- 
long  friendships.  The  after  life  may  be  more  contented, 
but  can  rarely  be  so  glad  and  joyous.  Two  things  we 
need  to  crown  its  blessings — one  is,  that  the  friends 
whom  we  then  learn  to  love,  and  the  opinions  which 
we  then  learn  to  cherish,  may  stand  the  test  of  time, 
and  deserve  the  esteem  and  approval  of  calmer  thoughts 
and  wider  experience ;  the  other,  that  our  hearts  may 
have  depth  enough  to  drink  largely  of  that  which  God  is 
holding  to  our  lips,  and  never  again  to  lose  the  fire  and 
spirit  of  the  draught.  There  is  nothing  more  beautiful 
than  a  manhood  surrounded  by  the  friends,  upholding 
the  principles,  and  filled  with  the  energy  of  the  spring- 
time of  life.  But  even  if  these  hio-hest  blessings  be 
denied,  if  we  have  been  compelled  to  change  opinions, 
and  to  give  up  friends,  and  the  cold  experience  of  the 
world  has  extinguished  the  heat  of  youth,  still  the  heart 
will  instinctively  recur  to  that  happy  time,  to  explain 
to  itself  what  is  meant  by  love  and  what  by  hap- 
piness. 

Of  course,  this  is  only  one  side  of  the  picture. 
This  keen  susceptibility  to  pleasure  and  joy  implies  a 
keen  susceptibility  to  pain.  There  is,  probably,  no 
time  of  life  at  which  pains  are  more  intensel}^  felt ; 
no  time  at  which  the  wdiole  man  more  '  groaneth  and 
travaileth  in  pain  together.'  Young  men  are  prone 
to  extreme  melancholy,  even  to  disgust  with  life.  A 
young  preacher  will  preach  upon  afflictions  much  more 
often  than  an  old  one.  A  young  poet  will  write 
more  sadly.  A  young  philosopher  will  moralize  more 
gloomily.     And  this  seems  unreal  sentiment,  and  is 


24  The  Educatio7i  of  the  World. 

smiled  at  in  after  years.  But  it  is  real  at  the  time  ; 
and,  perhaps,  is  nearer  the  truth  at  all  times  than  the 
contentedness  of  those  who  ridicule  it.  Youth,  in 
fact,  feels  everything  more  keenly ;  and  as  far  as  the 
keenness  of  feeling  contributes  to  its  truth,  the  feeling, 
Avhether  it  is  pain  or  pleasure,  is  so  much  the  truer. 
But  in  after  life  it  is  the  happiness,  not  the  suffering 
of  youth,  that  most  often  returns  to  the  memory,  and 
seems  to  gild  all  the  past. 

The  period  of  ^^outh  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
when  the  human  race  was,  as  it  were,  put  under  the 
teaching  of  example,  corresponds,  of  course,  to  the 
meeting  point  of  the  Law  and  the  Gospel.  The 
second  stage,  therefore,  in  the  education  of  man  was 
the  presence  of  our  Lord  upon  earth.  Those  few 
years  of  His  divine  presence  seem,  as  it  were,  to 
balance  all  the  systems  and  creeds  and  worships  which 
preceded,  all  the  Church's  life  which  has  followed  since. 
Saints  had  gone  before,  and  saints  have  been  given 
since ;  great  men  and  good  men  had  lived  among  the 
heathen ;  there  were  never,  at  any  time,  examples 
wanting  to  teach  either  the  chosen  people  or  any 
other.  But  the  one  Example  of  all  examples  came  in 
the  '  fulness  of  time,'  just  when  the  world  was  fitted  to 
feel  the  power  of  His  presence.  Had  His  revelation 
been  delayed  till  now,  assuredly  it  would  have  been 
hard  for  us  to  recognise  His  Divinity ;  for  the  faculty 
of  Faith  has  turned  inwards,  and  cannot  now  accept 
any  outer  manifestations  of  the  truth  of  God.  Our 
vision  of  the  Son  of  God  is  now  aided  by  the  eyes 
of  the  Apostles,  and  by  that  aid  we  can  recognise  the 
Express  Image  of  the  Father.  But  in  this  we  are 
like  men  who  are  led  through  unknown  woods  by 
Indian  guides.  AYe  recognise  the  indications  by 
which  the  path  was  known,  as  soon  as  those  indica- 
tions are  pointed  out ;  but  we  feel  that  it  would  have 
been  quite  vain  for  us  to  look  for  them  unaided.  We, 
of  course,  have,  in  our  turn,  counterbalancing  advan- 
tages.    If  we  have  lost  that  freshness  of  faith  which 


The  Education  of  the  World.  25 

■would  be  the  first  to  say  to  a  poor  carpenter — Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  tlie  Living  God — yet  we 
possess,  in  the  greater  cultivation  of  our  religious  un- 
derstanding, that  which,  perhaps,  we  ought  not  to  be 
willing  to  give  in  exchange.  The  early  Christians 
could  recognise,  more  readily  than  we,  the  greatness 
and  beauty  of  the  Example  set  before  them ;  l)ut  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say,  that  we  know  better  than  they 
the  precise  outlines  of  the  truth.  To  every  age  is  given 
by  (rod  its  own  proper  gift.  They  had  not  the  same 
clearness  of  understanding  as  we ;  the  same  recogni- 
tion that  it  is  God  and  not  the  devil  who  rules 
the  world  ;  the  same  power  of  discrimination  between 
different  kinds  of  truth  ;  they  had  not  the  same  calm- 
ness, or  fixedness  of  conduct ;  their  faith  was  not  so 
quiet,  so  little  tempted  to  restless  vehemence.  But 
they  had  a  keenness  of  perception  which  we  have  not, 
and  could  see  the  immeasurable  difference  between 
our  Lord  and  all  other  men  as  we  could  never  have 
seen  it.  Had  our  Lord  come  later.  He  would  have 
come  to  mankind  already  beginning  to  stiffen  into  the 
fixedness  of  maturity.  The  power  of  His  life  would 
not  have  sunk  so  deej)ly  into  the  world's  heart ;  the 
truth  of  His  Divine  Nature  would  not  have  been' 
recognised.  Seeing  the  Lord,  would  not  have  been 
the  title  to  Apostleship.  On  the  other  hand,  had  our 
Lord  come  earlier,  the  world  would  not  have  been 
ready  to  receive  Him,  and  the  Gospel,  instead  of  being 
the  religion  of  the  human  race,  would  have  been  the 
religion  of  the  Hebrews  only.  The  other  systems 
would  have  been  too  strong  to  be  overtlirown  by  the 
power  of  preaching.  The  need  of  a  higher  and  purer 
teaching  would  not  have  been  felt.  Christ  would  have 
seemed  to  the  Gentiles  the  Jewish  Messiah,  not  the 
Son  of  Man.  But  He  came  in  the  '  fulness  of  time,' 
for  which  all  history  had  been  preparing,  to  which  all 
history  since  has  been  looking  back.  Hence  the  first 
and  largest  place  in  the  New  Testament  is  assigned  to 
His  Life  four  times  told.     This  life  we  emphatically 


26  The  Education  of  the  World. 

call  the  Gospel.  If  there  is  little  herein  to  be  teclini- 
call}'"  called  doctrine,  yet  here  is  the  fountain  of  all 
inspiration.  There  is  no  Christian  who  would  not 
rather  part  with  all  the  rest  of  the  Bible  than  with 
these  four  Books.  There  is  no  part  of  God's  Word 
which  the  religious  man  more  instinctively  remembers. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  Parables  and  the  Mira- 
cles, the  Last  Sapper,  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  Garden 
of  Gethsemane,  the  Cross  on  Calvary — these  are  the 
companions  alike  of  infancy  and  of  old  age,  simple 
enough  to  be  read  with  awe  and  wonder  by  the  one, 
profound  enough  to  open  new  depths  of  wisdom  to 
the  fullest  experience  of  the  other. 

Our  Lord  was  the  Example  of  mankind,  and  there 
can  be  no  other  example  in  the  same  sense.  But  the 
whole  period  from  the  closing  of  the  Old  Testament 
to  the  close  of  the  New  was  the  period  of  the  world's 
youth — the  age  of  examples  ;  and  our  Lord's  presence 
was  not  the  only  influence  of  that  kind  which  has 
acted  upon  the  human  race.  Three  companions  were 
appointed  by  Providence  to  give  their  society  to  this 
creature  whom  God  was  educating ;  Greece,  Eome, 
and  the  Early  Church.  To  these  three  mankind  has 
ever  since  looked  back,  and  will  ever  hereafter  look 
back  with  the  same  affection,  the  same  lingering  re- 
gret, with  which  age  looks  back  to  early  manhood.  In 
these  three,  mankind  remembers  the  brilliant  social 
companion  whose  wit  and  fancy  sharpened  the  intel- 
lect and  refined  the  imagination  ;  the  bold  and  clever 
leader  with  whom  to  dare  was  to  do,  and  whose  very 
name  was  a  signal  of  success;  and  the  earnest,  heavenly- 
minded  friend,  whose  saintly  aspect  was  a  revelation 
in  itself. 

Greece  and  Bome  have  not  only  given  to  us  the 
fruits  of  their  discipline,  but  the  companionship  of 
their  bloom.  The  fruits  of  their  discipline  would 
have  passed  into  our  possession,  even  if  their  memory 
had  utterly  perished ;  and  just  as  we  know  not  the 


Ar<^ 


The  Education  of  the  World.  27 

man  who  first  discovered  arithmetic,  nor  the  man  who 
first  invented  writing — benefactors  with  whom  no 
other  captains  of  science  can  ever  be  compared — so, 
too,  it  is  probable  that  we  inherit  from  many  a  race, 
w^hose  name  we  shall  never  hear  aerain,  fruits  of  long: 
tranimg  now  forgotten.  But  Greece  and  Eome  have 
given  us  more  than  any  results  of  discipline  in  the 
never-dying  memory  of  their  fresh  and  youthful  life. 
It  is  this,  and  not  only  the  greatness  or  the  genius  of 
the  classical  writers,  which  makes  their  literature  pre- 
eminent above  all  others.  There  have  been  great 
poets,  great  historians,  great  philosophers  in  modern 
days.  Greece  can  show  few  poets  equal,  none  supe- 
rior to  Shakspeare.  Gibbon,  in  many  respects,  stands 
above  all  ancient  historians.  Bacon  was  as  great  a 
master  of  philosophy  as  Aristotle.  Nor,  again,  are 
there  wanting  great  writers  of  times  older,  as  well  as 
of  times  later,  than  the  Greek,  as,  for  instance,  the 
Hebrew  prophets.  But  the  classics  possess  a  charm 
quite  independent  of  genius.  It  is  not  their  genius 
only  which  makes  them  attractive.  It  is  the  classic 
life,  the  life  of  the  people  of  that  day.  It  is  the 
image,  there  only  to  be  seen,  of  our  highest  natural 
powers  in  their  freshest  vigour.  It  is  the  unattain- 
able grace  of  the  prime  of  manhood.  It  is  the  pervad- 
ing sense  of  youthful  beauty.  Hence,  while  we  have 
elsewhere  great  poems  and  great  histories,  we  never 
find  again  that  universal  radiance  of  fresh  life  which 
makes  even  the  most  commonplace  relics  of  classic 
da3^s  models  for  our  highest  art.  The  common  work- 
man of  those  times  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  the 
gods.  What  are  now  the  ornaments  of  our  museums 
were  then  the  every-day  furniture  of  sitting  and 
sleeping  rooms.  In  the  great  monuments  of  their 
literature  we  can  taste  this  pure  inspiration  most 
largely;  but  even  the  most  commonplace  fragments 
of  a  classic  writer  are  steeped  in  the  waters  of  the 
same   fountain.     Those   who    compare   the   moderns 


28  The  Education  of  the  World. 

with  the  ancients,  genius  for  genius,  have  no  difficulty 
in  claiming  for  the  former  equality,  if  not  victory. 
But  the  issue  is  mistaken.  To  combine  the  highest 
powers  of  intellect  with  tlie  freshness  of  3^outh  was 
possible  only  once,  and  that  is  the  glory  of  the  classic 
nations.  The  inspiration  which  is  drawn  by  the  man 
from  the  memory  of  those  whom  he  loved  and 
admired  in  the  spring-time  of  his  life,  is  drawn  by 
the  world  now  from  the  study  of  Greece  and  Eome. 
The  world  goes  back  to  its  youth  in  hopes  to  become 
young  again,  and  delights  to  dwell  on  the  feats 
achieved  by  the  companions  of  those  days.  Beneath 
whatever  was  wrong  and  foolish  it  recognises  that 
beauty  of  a  fresh  nature  which  never  ceases  to  delight. 
And  the  sins  and  vices  of  that  joyous  time  are  passed 
over  with  the  levity  with  which  men  think  of  their 
young  companions'  follies. 

The  Early  Church  stands  as  the  example  which  has 
most  influenced  our  religious  life,  as  Greece  and  Ivome 
have  most  influenced  our  political  and  intellectual  life. 
We  read  the  New  Testament,  not  to  find  there  forms 
of  devotion,  for  there  are  few  to  be  found ;  nor  laws 
of  church  government,  for  there  are  hardly  any ;  nor 
creeds,  for  there  are  none  ;  nor  doctrines  logically 
stated,  for  there  is  no  attempt  at  logical  precision. 
The  New  Testament  is  almost  entirely  occupied  with 
two  lives — the  life  of  our  Lord,  and  the  life  of  the 
Early  Church.  Among  the  Epistles  there  are  but  two 
which  seem,  even  at  first  sight,  to  be  treatises  for  the 
future  instead  of  letters  for  the  time — the  Epistle  to 
the  Eomans  and  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  But 
even  these,  when  closely  examined,  appear,  like  the 
rest,  to  be  no  more  than  the  fruit  of  the  current  his- 
tory. That  early  Church  does  not  give  us  precepts, 
but  an  example.  She  says.  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  as 
I  also  am  of  Christ.  This  had  never  been  said  by 
Moses,  nor  by  any  of  the  prophets.  But  the  world 
was  now  grown  old  enough  to  be  taught  by  seeing 


Tlie  Education  of  the  World.  29 

the  lives  of  saints,  better  than  by  hearing  the  words 
of  prophets.  When  afterwards  Christians  needed 
creeds,  and  liturgies,  and  forms  of  church  govern- 
ment and  systems  of  theology,  they  could  not  find 
them  in  the  New  Testament.  They  found  there  only 
the  materials  out  of  which  such  needs  could  be  sup- 
plied. But  the  combination  and  selection  of  those 
materials  they  had  to  provide  for  themselves.  In 
fact,  the  work  wliich  the  early  Church  had  to  do  was 
peculiar.  Her  circumstances  were  still  more  peculiar. 
Had  she  legislated  peremptorily  for  posterity,  her 
legislation  must  have  been  set  aside,  as,  indeed,  the 
prohibition  to  eat  things  strangled  and  to  eat  blood 
has  been  already  set  aside.  But  her  example  will  live 
and  teach  for  ever.  In  her  we  learn  what  is  meant 
by  zeal,  what  by  love  of  God,  what  by  joy  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,  what  by  endurance  for  the  sake  of  Christ. 
For  the  very  purpose  of  giving  us  a  pattern,  the  chief 
features  in  her  character  are,  as  it  were,  magnified 
into  colossal  proportions.  Our  saints  must  chiefly  be 
the  saints  of  domestic  life,  the  brightness  of  whose 
light  is  visible  to  very  few.  But  their  saintliness  was 
forced  into  publicity,  and  its  radiance  illumines  the 
earth.  So  on  every  page  of  the  New  Testament  is 
written.  Go  and  do  thou  likewise.  Transplant  into 
your  modern  life  the  same  heavenly-mindedness,  the 
same  fervour  of  love,  the  same  unshaken  faith,  the 
same  devotion  to  your  fellow-men.  And  to  these 
pages  accordingly  the  Church  of  our  day  turns  for 
renewal  of  inspiration.  AVe  even  busy  ourselves 
in  tracing  the  details  of  the  early  Christian  life,  and 
we  love  to  find  that  any  practice  of  ours  comes  down 
from  apostolic  times.  This  is  an  exaggeration.  It  is 
not  really  following  the  early  Church,  to  be  servile 
copyists  of  her  practices.  We  are  not  commanded  to 
have  all  things  in  common,  because  the  church  of 
Jerusalem  once  had ;  nor  are  we  to  make  every  supper 
a  sacrament,  because  the  early  Christians  did  so.     To 


80  The  Education  of  the  World. 

copy  tlie  early  Cliurcli  is  to  do  as  slie  did,  not  what 
she  did.  Yet  the  very  exaggeration  is  a  testimony 
of  the  power  which  that  Church  has  over  us.  We 
would  fain  imitate  even  her  outward  actions  as  a  step 
towards  imitating  her  inner  life.  Her  outward  actions 
were  not  meant  for  our  model.  She,  too,  had  her 
faults  :  disorders,  violent  quarrels,  licentious  reckless- 
ness of  opinion  in  regard  both  to  faith  and  practice. 
But  these  spots  altogether  disappear  in  the  bhize  of 
light  which  streams  upon  us  when  we  look  hack  to- 
wards her.  Nay,  we  are  impatient  of  being  reminded 
that  she  had  faults  at  all.  So  much  does  her  youthful 
holiness  surpass  all  that  we  can  show,  that  he  who 
can  see  her  faults  seems  necessarily  insensible  to  the 
brightness  of  her  glory.  There  have  been  great  saints 
since  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  Holiness  is  as  possible 
now  as  it  was  then.  But  the  saintliness  of  that  time 
had  a  peculiar  beauty  which  we  cannot  copy ;  a 
beauty  not  confined  to  the  apostles  or  great  leaders, 
but  pervading  the  whole  Church.  It  is  not  what  they 
endured,  nor  the  virtues  which  they  practised,  which  so 
dazzle  us.  It  is  the  perfect  simplicity  of  the  religious 
life,  the  singleness  of  heart,  the  openness,  the  child- 
like earnestness.  All  else  has  been  repeated  since, 
but  this  never.  And  this  makes  the  religious  man's 
heart  turn  back  with  longing  to  that  blessed  time 
when  the  Lord's  service  was  the  highest  of  all 
delights,  and  every  act  of  worship  came  fresh  from 
the  soul.  If  we  compare  degrees  of  devotion,  it  may 
be  reckoned  something  intrinsically  nobler,  to  serve 
God  and  love  Him  now  when  religion  is  colder  than 
it  was,  and  when  we  have  not  the  aid  of  those  thrill- 
ing, heart-stirring  sympathies  which  blessed  the  early 
Church.  But  even  if  our  devotion  be  sometimes 
nobler  in  itself,  yet  theirs  still  remains  the  more  beau- 
tiful, the  more  attractive.  Ours  may  have  its  own  place 
in  the  sight  of  God,  but  theirs  remains  the  irresistible 
example  which  kindles  all  other  hearts  by  its  fire. 


The  Education  of  the  World.  31 

It  is  nothing  against  the  drift  of  this  argument, 
that  the  three  friends  whose  companionship  is  most 
deeply  engraven  on  the  memory  of  the  world  were  no 
friends  one  to  another.  This  was  the  lot  of  mankind, 
as  it  is  the  lot  of  not  a  few  men,  Grreece,  the  child 
of  nature,  had  come  to  full  maturity  so  early  as  to 
pass  away  before  the  other  two  appeared ;  and  Rome 
and  the  Early  Church  disliked  each  other.  Yet  that 
dislike  makes  little  impression  on  us  now.  "We  never 
identify  the  Rome  of  our  admiration  with  the  Rome 
which  persecuted  the  Christian,  partly,  indeed,  because 
the  Rome  that  we  admire  was  almost  gone  before  the 
church  was  founded;  but  partly,  too,  because  we 
forget  each  of  these  while  we  are  studying  the  other, 
"We  almost  make  two  persons  of  Trajan,  accordingly 
as  we  meet  with  him  in  sacred  or  profane  history.  So 
natural  is  it  to  forget  in  after  life  the  faulty  side  of 
young  friends'  characters. 

The  susceptibility  of  youth  to  the  impression  of 
society  wears  off  at  last.  The  age  of  reflection  begins. 
From  the  storehouse  of  his  youthful  experience  the 
man  begins  to  draw  the  principles  of  his  life.  The 
spirit  or  conscience  comes  to  full  strength  and  assumes 
the  throne  intended  for  him  in  the  soul.  As  an 
accredited  judge,  invested  with  full  powers,  he  sits  in 
the  tribunal  of  our  inner  kingdoin,  decides  upon  the 
past,  and  legislates  upon  the  future  without  appeal 
except  to  himself.  He  decides  not  by  what  is  beau- 
tiful, or  noble,  or  soul-inspiring,  but  by  what  is  right. 
Gradually  he  frames  his  code  of  laws,  revising,  adding, 
abrogating,  as  a  wider  and  deeper  experience  gives 
him  clearer  light.  He  is  the  third  great  teacher  and 
the  last. 

Now  the  education  by  no  means  ceases  when  the 
spirit  thus  begins  to  lead  the  soul ;  the  office  of  the 
spirit  is  in  fact  to  guide  us  into  truth,  not  to  give 
truth.  The  youth  who  has  settled  down  to  his  life's 
work  makes  a  great  mistake,  if   he  fancies  that  be- 


33  The  Education  of  tke  World. 

cause  he  is  no  more  under  teachers  and  governors 
his  education  is  therefore  at  an  end.  It  is  only 
changed  in  form.  He  has  much,  very  much,  to  learn, 
more  perhaps  than  all  which  he  has  yet  learned ;  and 
his  new  teacher  will  not  give  it  to  him  all  at  once. 
The  lesson  of  life  is  in  this  respect  like  the  lessons 
whereby  we  learn  any  ordinary  business.  The  bar- 
rister, who  has  filled  his  memory  with  legal  forms  and 
imbued  his  mind  with  their  spirit,  knows  that  the 
most  valuable  part  of  his  education  is  yet  to  be 
obtained  in  attending  the  courts  of  law.  The  physi- 
cian is  not  content  with  the  theories  of  the  lecture- 
room,  nor  with  the  experiments  of  the  laboratory,  nor 
ev^en  with  the  attendance  at  the  hospitals;  he  knows 
that  independent  practice,  when  he  will  be  thrown  upon 
his  own  resources,  will  open  his  eyes  to  much  which 
at  present  he  sees  through  a  glass  darkly.  In  every 
profession,  after  the  principles  are  apparently  mastered, 
there  yet  remains  much  to  be  learnt  from  the  applica- 
tion of  those  principles  to  practice,  the  only  means  by 
which  we  ever  understand  principles  to  the  bottom. 
So  too  with  the  lesson  which  includes  all  others,  the 
lesson  of  life. 

In  this  last  stage  of  his  progress  a  man  learns  in 
various  ways.  First  he  learns  unconsciously  by  the 
growth  of  his  inner  powers  and  the  secret  but  steady 
accumulation  of  experience.  The  fire  of  youth  is 
toned  down  and  sobered.  The  realities  of  life  dissi- 
pate many  dreams,  clear  up  many  prejudices,  soften 
down  many  roughnesses.  The  difference  between 
intention  and  action,  between  anticipating  temptation 
and  bearing  it,  between  drawing  pictures  of  holiness 
or  nobleness  and  realizing  them,  between  hopes  of 
success  and  reality  of  achievement,  is  taught  by  many  a 
painful  and  many  an  unexpected  experience.  In  short, 
as  the  youth  puts  away  childish  things,  so  does  the 
man  put  away  youthful  things.  Secondly,  the  full- 
grown  man  learns  by  reflection.     He  looks  inwards 


Tlie  Education  of  the  World.  33 

and  not  outwards  only.  He  re-arranges  the  results  of 
past  experience,  re-examines  by  the  test  of  reality  the 
principles  supplied  to  him  by  books  or  conversation, 
reduces  to  intelligible  and  practical  formulas  what  he 
has  hitherto  known  as  vague  general  rules.  He  not 
only  generalizes — youth  will  generalize  with  great 
rapidity  and  often  with  great  acuteness — but  he  learns 
to  correct  one  generalization  by  another.  He  gra- 
dually learns  to  disentangle  his  own  thoughts,  so  as 
not  to  be  led  into  foolish  inconsistency  by  want  of 
clearness  of  purpose.  He  learns  to  distinguish  between 
momentary  impulses  and  permanent  determinations 
of  character.  He  learns  to  know  the  limits  of  his 
own  powers,  moral  and  intellectual ;  and  by  slow 
degrees  and  with  much  reluctance  he  learns  to  sus- 
pend his  judgment  and  to  be  content  with  ignorance 
where  knowledge  is  beyond  his  reach.  He  learns  to 
know  himself  and  other  men,  and  to  distinguish  in 
some  measure  his  own  peculiarities  from  the  leading 
features  of  humanity  which  he  shares  with  all  men. 
He  learns  to  know  both  the  worth  and  the  worthless- 
ness  of  the  w^orld's  judgment  and  of  his  own.  Thirdly, 
he  learns  much  by  mistakes,  both  by  his  own  and  by 
those  of  others.  He  often  persists  in  a  wrong  cause 
till  it  is  too  late  to  mend  what  he  has  done,  and  he 
learns  how  to  use  it  and  how  to  bear  it.  His  j)rinciples, 
or  what  he  thought  his  principles,  break  down  under 
him,  and  he  is  forced  to  analyse  them  in  order  to  dis- 
cover what  amount  of  truth  they  really  contain.  He 
comes  upon  new  and  quite  unexpected  issues  of  what  he 
has  done  or  said,  and  he  has  to  profit  by  such  warnings 
as  he  receives.  His  errors  often  force  him,  as  it  were, 
to  go  back  to  school ;  not  now  with  the  happy  docility 
of  a  child,  but  with  the  chastened  submission  of  a  peni- 
tent. Or,  more  often  still,  his  mistakes  inflict  a  sharp 
chastisement  which  teaches  him  a  new  lesson  without 
much  effort  on  his  own  part  to  learn.  Lastly,  he  learns 
much  by  contradiction.  The  coljision  of  society  compels 


^fi*^" 


34  The  Education  of  the  World. 

liim  to  state  liis  opinions  clearly ;  to  defend  tliem  ;  to 
modify  tliem  when  indefensible  ;  perhaps  to  surrender 
them  altogether,  consciously  or  unconsciously ;  still 
more  often  to  absorb  them  into  larger  and  fuller 
thoughts,  less  forcible  but  more  comprehensive.  The 
precision  which  is  thus  often  forced  upon  him  always 
seems  to  diminish  something  of  the  heartiness  and 
power  which  belonged  to  more  youthful  instincts.  But 
he  gains  in  directness  of  aim,  and  therefore  in  firmness 
of  resolution.  But  the  greatest  of  his  gains  is  what 
seems  a  loss  :  for  he  learns  not  to  attempt  the  solution 
of  insoluble  problems,  and  to  have  no  opinion  at  all 
on  many  points  of  the  deepest  interest.  Usually  this 
takes  the  form  of  an  abandonment  of  speculation  ; 
but  it  may  rise  to  the  level  of  a  philosophical  humi- 
lity which  stops  where  it  can  advance  no  further,  and 
confesses  its  own  weakness  in  the  presence  of  the 
mysteries  of  life. 

But  throughout  all  this  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  he  has  no  more  to  do  either  with  that  law  which 
guided  his  childhood  or  with  any  other  law  of  any 
kind.  Since  he  is  still  a  learner,  he  must  learn  on  the 
one  condition  of  all  learning — obedience  to  rules ;  not 
indeed,  blind  obedience  to  rules  not  understood,  but 
obedience  to  the  rules  of  his  own  mind — an  obedience 
which  he  cannot  throw  off  without  descending  below 
the  childish  level.  He  is  free.  But  freedom  is  not 
the  opposite  of  obedience,  but  of  restraint.  The  free- 
man must  obey,  and  obey  as  precisely  as  the  bond- 
man ;  and  if  he  has  not  acquired  the  habit  of  obedience 
he  is  not  fit  to  be  free.  The  law  in  fact  which  God 
makes  the  standard  of  our  conduct  may  have  one  of 
two  forms.  It  may  be  an  external  law,  a  law  which 
is  in  the  hands  of  others,  in  the  making,  in  the  apply- 
ing, in  the  enforcing  of  which  we  have  no  share ;  a 
law  which  governs  from  the  outside,  compelling  our 
will  to  bow  even  thouo-h  our  understandino^  be  un- 
convinced  and  unenlig^itened ;  saying  you  must,  and 


The  Education  of  the  World.  35". 

making  no  effort  to  make  you  feel  that  you  ouglit ; 
appealing  not  to  your  conscience,  but  to  force  or  fear, 
and  caring  little  whether  you  willingly  agree  or 
reluctantly  submit.  Or,  again,  the  law  may  be  an 
internal  law ;  a  voice  which  speaks  within  the  con- 
science, and  carries  the  understanding  along  with  it ; 
a  law  which  treats  us  not  as  slaves  but  as  friends, 
allowing  us  to  know  what  our  Lord  doeth  ;  a  law  which 
bids  us  yield  not  to  blind  fear  or  awe,  but  to  the 
majesty  of  truth  and  justice ;  a  law  which  is  not 
imposed  on  us  by  another  power,  but  by  our  own 
enlightened  will.  Now  the  first  of  these  is  the  law 
which  governs  and  educates  the  child  ;  the  second  the 
law  which  governs  and  educates  the  man.  The  second 
is  in  reality  the  spirit  of  the  first.  It  commands  in 
a  different  way,  but  with  a  tone  not  one  whit  less 
peremptory ;  and  he  only  who  can  control  all  appe- 
tites and  passions  in  obedience  to  it  can  reap  the  full 
harvest  of  the  last  and  highest  education. 

This  need  of  law  in  tlie  full  maturity  of  life  is  so 
imperative  that  if  the  requisite  self-control  be  lost  or 
impaired,  or  have  never  been  sufficiently  acquired,  the 
man  instinctively  has  recourse  to  a  self-imposed  dis- 
cipline if  he  desire  to  keep  himself  from  falling.  The 
Christian  who  has  fallen  into  sinful  habits  often  finds 
that  he  has  no  resource  but  to  abstain  from  much  that 
is  harmless  in  itself  because  he  has  associated  it  with 
evil.  He  takes  monastic  vows  because  the  world  has 
proved  too  much  for  him.  He  takes  temperance 
pledges  because  he  cannot  resist  the  temptations  of 
appetite.  There  are  devils  which  can  be  cast  out  with 
a  word ;  there  are  others  wdiich  go  not  out  but  by 
(not  pra3^er  only,  but)  fasting.  This  is  often  the  case 
with  the  late  converted.  They  are  compelled  to 
abstain  from,  and  sometimes  they  are  induced  to  de- 
nounce, many  pleasures  and  many  enjoyments  which 
they  find  unsuited  to  their  spiritual  health.  The 
world  and  its  enjoyments  have  been  to  them  a  source 

D  3 


36  The  Education  of  the  U'orld. 

of  perpetual  temptation,  and  tliey  cannot  conceive 
any  religions  life  within  such  a  circle  of  evil.  Some- 
times these  men  are  truly  spiritual  enough  and  humble 
enough  to  recognise  that  this  discipline  is  not  es- 
sential in  itself,  but  only  for  them  and  for  such  as  they. 
The  discipline  is  then  truly  subordinate.  It  is  an 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  their  conscience.  They 
know  what  they  are  doing  and  why  they  do  it.  But 
sometimes,  if  they  are  weak,  this  discipline  assumes 
the  shape  of  a  regular  external  law.  They  look  upon 
many  harmless  things,  from  which  they  have  suffered 
mischief  as  absolutely,  not  relatively,  hurtful.  They 
denounce  what  they  cannot  share  without  danger,  as 
dangerous,  not  only  for  them,  but  for  all  mankind,  and 
as  evil  in  itself.  They  set  up  a  conventional  code  of 
duty  founded  on  their  own  experience  which  they 
extend  to  all  men.  Even  if  they  are  educated  enough 
to  see  that  no  conventional  code  is  intellectually  tenable, 
yet  they  still  maintain  their  system,  and  defend  it,  as 
not  necessary  in  itself,  but  necessary  for  sinful  men. 
The  fact  is,  that  a  merciful  Providence,  in  order  to 
help  such  men,  puts  them  back  under  the  dominion  of 
the  law.  They  are  not  aware  of  it  themselves — men 
who  are  under  the  dominion  of  the  law  rarely  are 
aware  of  it.  But  even  if  they  could  appeal  to  a  reve- 
lation from  heaven,  they  would  still  be  under  the 
law ;  for  a  revelation  speaking  from  without  and  not 
from  within  is  an  external  law  and  not  a  spirit. 

For  the  same  reason  a  strict  and  even  severe 
discipline  is  needed  for  the  cure  of  reprobates.  Phi- 
lanthropists complain  sometimes  that  this  teaching 
ends  only  in  making  the  man  say,  '  the  punishment  of 
crime  is  what  I  cannot  bear ;'  not,  '  the  wickedness  of 
crime  is  what  I  will  not  do.'  But  our  nature  is  not 
all  will :  and  the  fear  of  punishment  is  very  often  the 
foundation  on  which  we  build  the  hatred  of  evil. 
No  convert  would  look  back  with  any  other  feeling 
than  deep  gratitude  on  a  severity  which  had  set  free 


The  Education  of  the  World.  37 

his  spirit  by  cliaiuing  down  his  grosser  appetites.  It 
is  true  that  the  teaching  of  mere  discipline,  if  there 
be  no  other  teacliing,  is  useless.  If  you  have  only 
killed  one  selfish  principle  by  another  you  have  done 
nothing.  But  if  while  thus  killing  one  selfish  prin- 
ciple by  another  you  have  also  succeeded  in  awaking 
the  higher  fiiculty  and  giving  it  free  power  of  self- 
exertion,  3^ou  have  done  everything. 

This  return  to  the  teaching  of  discipline  in  mature 
life  is  needed  for  the  intellect  even  more  than  for 
the  conduct.  There  are  many  men  who  though  they 
pass  from  the  teaching  of  the  outer  law  to  that 
of  the  inner  in  regard  to  their  practical  life,  never 
emerge  from  the  former  in  regard  to  their  speculative. 
They  do  not  think  ;  they  are  contented  to  let  others 
think  for  them  and  to  accept  the  results.  How  far 
the.  average  of  men  are  from  having  attained  the  power 
of  free  independent  thought  is  shown  by  the  stagger- 
ing and  stumbling  of  their  intellects  when  a  compfetely 
new  subject  of  investigation  tempts  them  to  form  a 
judgment  of  their  own  on  a  matter  which  they  have 
not  studied.  In  such  cases  a  really  educated  intel- 
lect sees  at  once  that  no  judgment  is  yet  within  its 
reach,  and  acquiesces  in  suspense.  But  the  unedu- 
cated intellect  hastens  to  account  for  the  phenomenon; 
to  discover  new  laws  of  nature,  and  new  relations  of 
truth ;  to  decide,  and  predict,  and  perhaps  to  demand 
a  remodelling  of  all  previous  knowledge.  The  dis- 
cussions on  table-turning  a  few  years  ago,  illustrated 
this  want  of  intellects  able  to  govern  themselves. 
The  whole  analogy  of  physical  science  was  not  enough 
to  induce  that  suspension  of  judgment  which  was 
effected  in  a  week  by  the  dictum  of  a  known  philo- 
sopher. 

There  are,  however,  some  men  who  really  think  for 
themselves.  But  even  they  are  sometimes  obliged, 
especially  if  their  speculations  touch  upon  practical 
life,  to  put  a  temporary  restraint  upon  their  intellects. 


33  The  'Education  of  the  World. 

They  refuse  to  speculate  at  all  in  directions  where  tliey 
cannot  feel  sure  of  preserving  their  own  balance  of 
mind.  If  the  concjlusions  at  which  they  seem  likely 
to  arrive  are  very  strange,  or  very  unlike  the  general 
analogy  of  truth,  or  carry  important  practical  conse- 
quences, they  will  pause,  and  turn  to  some  other  sub- 
ject, and  try  whether  if  they  come  back  with  fresh 
minds  they  still  come  to  the  same  results.  And  this 
may  go  further,  and  they  may  find  such  speculations  so 
bewildering  and  so  unsatisfactory,  that  they  finally 
take  refuge  in  a  refusal  to  think   any  more  on  the 

4  jDarticular  questions.  They  content  themselves  with  so 
much  of  truth  as  they  find  necessary  for  their  spiritual 
life ;  and,  though  perfectly  aware  that  the  wheat  may 
be  mixed  with  tares,  they  despair  of  rooting  up  the 
tares  with  safety  to  the  wheat,  and  therefore  let  both 
grow  together  till  the  harvest.  All  this  is  justifiable 
in  the  same  way  that  any  self-disci]3line  is  justifiable. 
That  is,  it  is  justifiable  if  really  necessary.  But  as  is 
always  the  case  with  those  who  are  under  the  law,  such 
men  are  sometimes  tempted  to  prescribe  for  others  what 
they  need  for  themselves,  and  to  require  that  no  others 
should  speculate  because  they  dare  not.  They  not  only 
refuse  to  think,   and  accept   other  men's   thoughts, 

"  which  is  often  quite  right,  but  they  elevate  those 
into  canons  of  faith  for  all  men,  which  is  not  right. 
This  blindness  is  of  course  wrong ;  but  in  reality  it 
is  a  blindness  of  the  same  kind  as  that  with  which 
the  Hebrews  clung  to  their  law ;  a  blindness,  pro- 
vided for  them  in  mercy,  to  save  their  intellects  from 
leading  them  into  mischief. 

Some  men,  on  the  other  hand,  show  their  want  of 
intellectual  self-control  by  going  back,  not  to  the 
dominion  of  law,  but  to  the  still  lower  level  of  intel- 
lectual anarchy.  They  speculate  without  any  founda- 
tion at  all.     They  confound  the   internal  consistency 

•  of  some  dream  of  their  brains  with  the  reality  of  in- 
dependent truth.     They  set  up  theories  which  have 


TJie  Education  of  the  World.  39 

no  otlier  evidence  tliim  compatibility  with  the  few  facts 
that  happen  to  he  known  ;  and  forget  that  many  other 
theories  of  equal  claims  might  readily  be  invented. 
They  are  as  little  able  to  be  content  witli  having  no 
judgment  at  all  as  those  who  accept  judgments  at 
second  hand.  They  never  practically  realize  that 
when  there  is  not  enough  evidence  to  justify  a  con- 
clusion, it  is  wisdom  to  draw  no  conclusion.  They 
are  so  eager  for  light  that  they  will  rub  their  eyes  in 
the  dark  and  take  the  resulting  optical  delusions  for 
real  flashes.  They  need  intellectual  discipline — but 
they  have  little  chance  of  getting  it,  for  they  have  / 

burst  its  bands.  /'•-•'  '^ 

There  is  yet  a  further  relation  between  the  inner   *^*" 
law  of  mature  life  and  the  outer  law  of  childhood       .  ^f 
which  must  be  noticed.     And  that  is,  that  the  outer    "f-^u^f^^ 
law  is  often  the  best  vehicle  in  which  the  inner  law      ^^***> 
can  be  contained  for  the  various   purposes   of  life.        ..^Z-w/' 
The   man   remembers   with    affection,   and  keeps  up  , ,  '■''  /^ 

with  delight  the  customs  of  the  home  of  his  child-  f.f**?"  / 
hood;  tempted  perhaps  to  over-estimate  their  value, 
but  even  when  perfectly  aware  that  they  are  no  more 
than  one  form  out  of  many  which  a  well-ordered 
household  might  adopt,  preferring  them  because  of 
his  long  familiarity,  and  because  of  the  memories  with 
which  they  are  associated.  So,  too,  truth  often  seems  to 
him  richer  and  fuller  when  expressed  in  some  favourite 
phrase  of  his  mother's,  or  some  maxim  of  his  father's. 
He  can  give  no  better  reason  very  often  for  much  that 
he  does  every  day  of  his  life  than  that  his  father  did 
it  before  him ;  and  provided  the  custom  is  not  a 
bad  one  the  reason  is  valid.  And  he  likes  to  go  to 
the  same  church.  He  likes  to  use  the  same  prayers. 
He  likes  to  keep  up  the  same  festivities.  There  are 
limits  to  all  this.  But  no  man  is  quite  free  from  the 
influence  ;  and  it  is  in  many  cases,  perhaps  in  most, 
an  influence  of  the  highest  moral  value.  There  is 
great  value  in  the  removal  of  many  indifferent  matters 


40  The  Education  of  the  World. 

out  of  the  region  of  discussion  into  that  of  precedent. 
There  is  greater  vakie  still  in  the  link  of  sympathy 
which  binds  the  present  with  the  past,  and  fills  old 
age  with  the  fresh  feelings  of  childhood.  If  truth 
sometimes  suffers  in  form,  it  unquestionably  gains 
much  in  power;  and  if  its  onward  progress  is  retarded, 
it  gains  immeasurably  in  solidity  and  in  its  hold  on 
men's  hearts. 

Such  is  the  last  stage  in  the  education  of  a  human 
soul,  and  similar  (as  far  as  it  has  yet  gone)  has  been 
the  last  stage  in  the  education  of  the  human  race. 
Of  course,  so  full  a  comparison  cannot  be  made  in  this 
instance  as  was  possible  in  the  two  which  preceded  it. 
For  we  are  still  within  the  boundaries  of  this  third 
period,  and  we  cannot  yet  judge  it  as  a  whole.  But 
if  the  Christian  Church  be  taken  as  the  representative 
of  mankind  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  general  law  ob- 
servable in  the  development  of  the  individual  may  also 
be  found  in  the  development  of  the  Church. 

Since  the  days  of  the  Apostles  no  further  revelation 
has  been  granted,  nor  has  any  other  system  of  religion 
sprung  up  spontaneously  within  the  limits  which  the 
Church  has  covered.  No  prophets  have  communi- 
cated messages  from  Heaven.  No  infallible  insjDira- 
tion  has  guided  any  teacher  or  preacher.  The  claim 
of  infallibility  still  maintained  by  a  portion  of  Chris- 
tendom has  been  entirely  given  up  by  the  more 
advanced  section.  The  Church,  in  the  fullest  sense, 
is  left  to  herself  to  work  out,  by  her  natural  faculties, 
the  principles  of  her  own  action.  And  whatever 
assistance  she  is  to  receive  in  doing  so,  is  to  be  through 
those  natural  faculties,  and  not  in  spite  of  them  or 
without  them. 

From  the  very  first,  the  Church  commenced  the 
task  by  determining  her  leading  doctrines,  and  the 
principles  of  her  conduct.  These  were  evolved,  as 
principles  usually  are,  partly  by  reflection  on  past  ex- 
perience, and  by  formularizing  the  thoughts  embodied 


The  Education  of  the  World.  41 

ni  the  record  of  the  Church  of  the  Apostles,  partl}^  by 
perpetual  collision  with  every  variety  of  opinion. 
This  career  of  dogmatism  in  the  Church  was,  in  many 
ways,  similar  to  the  hasty  generalizations  of  early 
manhood.  The  principle  on  which  the  controversies 
of  those  days  were  conducted  is  that  of  giving  an 
answer  to  every  imaginable  question.  It  rarely 
seems  to  occur  to  the  early  controversialists  that  there  <^^*- 
are  questions  which  even  the  Church  cannot  solve — 
problems  which  not  even  revelation  has  brought  within 
the  reach  of-  human  faculties.      That  the  decisions  J 

were  right,  on  the  whole — that  is,  that  they  always 
embodied,  if  they  did  not  always  rightly  define,  the 
truth — is  proved  by  the  permanent  vitality  of  the 
Church  as  compared  with  the  various  heretical  bodies 
which  broke  from  her.  But  the  flict  that  so  vast  a 
number  of  the  early  decisions  are  practically  obsolete, 
and  that  even  many  of  the  doctrinal  statements  are 
plainly  unfitted  for  permanent  use,  is  a  proof  that  the 
Church  was  not  capable,  any  more  than  a  man  is 
capable,  of  extracting,  at  once,  all  the  truth  and  wis- 
dom contained  in  the  teaching  of  the  earlier  periods. 
In  fact,  the  Church  of  the  Fathers  claimed  to  do  what 
not  even  the  Apostles  had  claimed — namely,  not  only 
to  teach  the  truth,  but  to  clothe  it  in  logical  state- 
ments, and  that  not  merely  as  opposed  to  then  pre- 
vailing heresies  (which  was  justifiable),  but  for  all  " 
succeeding  time.  Yet  thi^  was,  after  all,  only  an 
exaggeration  of  the  proper  function  of  the  time. 
Those  logical  statements  were  "necessary.  And  it 
belongs  to  a  later  epoch  to  see  'the  law  within  the  law' 
which  absorbs  such  statements  into  something  higher 
than  themselves. 

Before  this  process  can  be  said  to  have  worked  itself 
out,  it  was  interrupted  by  a  new  phenomenon,  demand- 
ing essentially  different  management.  A  flood  of  new 
and  undisciplined  races  poured  into  Europe,  on  the  one 
hand  supplying  the  Church  with  the  vigour  of  fresh 


42  The  Education  of  the  World. 

life  to  replace  the  eifete  materials  of  the  old  Roman 
Empire,  and  on  the  other  carrying  lier  back  to  the 
childish  stage,  and  necessitating  a  return  to  the 
dominion  of  outer  law.  The  Church  instinctively  had 
recourse  to  the  only  means  that  would  suit  the  case — 
namely,  a  revival  of  Judaism.  The  Papacy  of  the 
^  Middle  Ages,  and  the  Papal  Hierarchy,  with  all  its 
numberless  ceremonies  and  appliances  of  external 
religion,  with  its  attention  fixed  upon  deeds  and  not 
on  thoughts,  or  feelings,  or  purposes,  with  its  precise 
apportionment  of  punishments  and  purgatory,  was,  in 
fact,  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  old  schoolmaster 
come  back  to  bring  some  new  scholars  to  Christ.  Of 
course,  this  was  not  the  conscious  intention  of  the  then 
'  rulers  of  the  Church  ;  they  believed  in  their  own  cere- 
monies as  much  as  any  of  the  people  at  large.  The 
return  to  the  dominion  of  law  was  instiuctive,  not  inten- 
tional. But  its  object  is  now  as  evident  as  the  object 
of  the  ancient  Mosaic  system.  Nothing  short  of  a  real 
system  of  discipline,  accepted  as  Divine  by  all  alike, 
could  have  tamed  the  German  and  Celtish  nature  into 
the  self-control  needed  for  a  truly  spiritual  religion. 
How  could  Chlovis,  at  the  head  of  his  Pranks,  have 
made  any  right  use  of  absolute  freedom  of  conscience  ? 
•Nor  was  this  a  case  in  which  the  less  disciplined  race 
could  have  learned  spirituality  from  the  more  disci- 
plined. This  may  happen  when  the  more  disciplined 
is  much  the  more  vigorous  of  the  two.  But  the  ex- 
hausted Poman  Empire  had  not  such  strength  of  life 
left  within  it.  There  was  no  alternative  but  that  all 
alike  should  be  put  under  the  law  to  learn  the  lesson 
of  obedience. 

When  the  work  was  done,  men  began  to  discover 
that  the  law  was  no  longer  necessary.  And  of  course 
there  was  no  reason  why  they  should  then  discuss  the 
question  whether  it  ever  had  been  necessary.  The 
time  was  come  when  it  was  fit  to  trust  to  the  conscience 
as  the  supreme  guide,  and  the  yoke  of  the  medieval 


Tlie  Education  of  the  World.  43 

discipline  wiis   shaken    off  by  a  controversy   wliicli, 
in  many  respects,  was  a  repetition  of  that  between  St. 
Paul  and  the  Judaizers.     i3ut,  as   is  always  the  case 
after  a  temporary  return  to  the  state   of  discipline, 
Christendom  did  not  go  back  to  the  position  or  the 
duty  from  which  she  had  been  drawn  by  the  influx  of 
the  barbarian  races.     The  human  mind  had  not  stood 
still  through  the  ages  of  bondage,  though  its  motions 
had  been  hidden.      The  Church's  whole  energy  was 
taken  up  in  the  first  six  centuries  of  her  existence  in 
the   creation   of  a  theology.     Since  that  time  it  had 
been  occupied  in  renewing  by  self-discipline  the  self- 
control  which  the  sudden  absorption  of  the  barbarians 
had  destroyed.     At  the  Eeformation  it   might   have 
seemed  at  first  as  if  the  study  of  theology  were  about 
to  return.     But  in  reality  an  entirely  new  lesson  com- 
menced— the  lesson  o£  toleration.  )  Toleration  is  the 
very  opposite   of  dogmatism.     It  implies  in  reality  a 
confession  that    there    are    insoluble    problems    upon 
which  even   Eevelation  throws  but  little  light.     Its 
tendency  is  to  modify  the  early  dogmatism  by  substi- 
tuting the  spirit  for  the   letter,  and  practical  religion 
for  precise  definitions  of  truth.      This  lesson  is  cer- 
tainly not   yet  fully   learnt.       Our   toleration    is    at 
present  too    often  timid,   too  often    rash,   sometimes 
sacrificing    valuable    religious    elements,    sometimes 
fearing  its  own  plainest  conclusions.     Yet  there  can 
be  no  question  that  it  is  gaining  on  the  minds  of  all 
educated  men,  whether  Protestant  or  Eoman  Catholic, 
and  is  passing  from  them  to  be  the  common  property 
of  educated  and  uneducated  alike.     There  are  occasions 
when  the  spiritual  anarchy  which  has  necessarily  fol- 
lowed the  Reformation  threatens  for  a  moment  to  bring 
back  some  temporary  bondage,  like  the  Eoman  Catholic 
system.     But  on  the  whole  the  steady  progress  of  tole- 
ration is  unmistakeable.     The  mature  mind  of  our  race 
is  beginning  to  modify  and   soften  the  hardness  and 
severity  of  the  principles  which  its  early  manhood  had 


44  Tlie  Education  of  the  World. 

elevated  into  immutable  statements  of  truth.  Men 
are  beginning  to  take  a  wider  view  than  they  did. 
Physical  science,  researches  into  history,  a  more 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  world  they  inhabit,  have 
enlarged  our  philosoph}'-  beyond  the  limits  which 
bounded  that  of  the  Church  of  the  Fathers.  And  all 
these  have  an  influence,  whether  we  will  or  no,  on  our 
determinations  of  religious  truth.  There  are  found  to 
be  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  were  dreamt 
of  in  the  patristic  theology.  God's  creation  is  a  new 
book  to  be  read  by  the  side  of  His  revelation,  and  to 
be  interpreted  as  coming  from  Him.  We  can  acknow- 
5  ledge  the  great  value  of  the  forms  in  which  the  first 

^  ages  of  the  Church  defined  the  truth,  and  yet  refuse  to 

be  bound  by  them  ;  we  can  use  them,  and  yet  endeavour 

:-  , '      „.       to  go  beyond  them,  just  as  they  also  went  beyond  the 

^ !  ^.r        legacy  which  was  left  us  by  the  Apostles. 

^  In  learning  this  new  lesson,  Christendom  needed  a 

firm  spot  on  which  she  might  stand,  and  has  found  it 

in  the  Bible.     Had  the  Bible  been  drawn  up  in  precise 

'At*"'  statements  of  faith,  or  detailed  precepts  of  conduct,  we 

f-  should  have  had  no  alternative  but  either  permanent 

subjection  to  an  outer  law,  or  loss  of  the  highest  in- 
strument of  self-education.  But  the  Bible,  from  its  very 
form,  is  exactly  adapted  to  our  present  want.     It  is  a 

-  history  ;  even  the  doctrinal  parts  of  it  are  cast  in  a 

historical  form,  and  are  best  studied  by  considering 
them  as  records  of  the  time  at  which  they  were  written, 
and  as  conveying  to  us  the  highest  and  greatest 
religious  life  of  that  time.  Hence  we  use  the  Bible — • 
some  consciously,  some  unconsciously — not  to  over- 
ride, but  to  evoke  the  voice  of  conscience.  When 
conscience  and  the  Bible  appear  to  differ,  the  pious 
Christian  immediately  concludes  that  he  has  not  really 
understood  the  Bible.  Hence,  too,  while  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Bible  varies  slightly  from  age  to  age,  it 
varies  always  in  one  direction.  The  schoolmen  found 
purgatory  in  it.     Later  students  found  enough  to  con- 


The  Education  of  the  World.  45 

demn  Galileo.  Not  long  ago  it  would  have  been  held 
to  condemn  geology,  and  there  are  still  many  who  so 
interpret  it.  The  current  is  all  one  way — it  evi- 
dently points  to  the  identification  of  the  Bible  with  the  " 
voice  of  conscience.  The  Bible,  in  fact,  is  hindered  by 
its  form  from  exercising  a  despotism  over  the  human 
spirit ;  if  it  could  do  that,  it  would  become  an  outer 
law  at  once ;  but  its  form  is  so  admirably  adapted  to 
our  need,  that  it  wins  from  us  all  the  reverence  of  a 
supreme  authority,  and  yet  imposes  on  us  no  yoke  of 
sul3Jection.  This  it  does  by  virtue  of  the  principle  of 
private  judgment,  which  puts  conscience  between  us 
and  the  Bible,  making  conscience  the  supreme  inter- 
preter, v/hom  it  may  be  a  duty  to  enlighten,  but  whom 
it  can  never  be  a  duty  to  disobey. 

This  recurrence  to  the  Bible  as  the  great  authority 
has  been  accompanied  by  a  strong  inclination,  common 
to  all  Protestant  countries,  to  go  back  in  every  detail 
of  life  to  the  practices  of  early  times,  chiefly,  no  doubt, 
because  such  a  revival  of  primitive  practices,  wherever 
possible,  is  the  greatest  help  to  entering  into  the  very 
essence,  and  imbibing  the  spirit  of  the  days  when  the 
Bible  was  written.  So,  too,  the  observance  of  the  *— -^j=v4i^^ 
Sunday  has  a  stronger  hold  on  the  minds  of  all  religious  >i*-:>  kr^'^j- 
men  because  it  penetrates  the  whole  texture  of  the  'A<-<^-**^^  \ 
Old  Testament.  The  institution  is  so  admirable, 
indeed  so  necessary  in  itself,  that  without  this  hold  it 
would  deserve  its  present  position.  But  nothing  but 
its  prominent  position  in  the  Bible  would  have  made 
it,  what  it  now  is,  the  one  ordinance  which  all  Christen- 
dom alike  agrees  in  keeping.  In  such  an  observance 
men  feel  that  they  are,  so  far,  living  a  scriptural  life, 
and  have  come,  as  it  were,  a  step  nearer  to  the  inner 
power  of  the  book  from  which  they  expect  to  learn 
their  highest  lessons.  Some,  indeed,  treat  it  as  en- 
joined by  an  absolutely  binding  decree,  and  thus  at 
once  put  themselves  under  a  law.  But  short  of  that, 
those  who  defend  it  only  by  arguments  of  Christian 


<- 


46  Tlte  Education  of  ill c  JJ^orhl. 

expediency,  are  yet  compelled  to  acknowledge  that 
those  arguments  are  so  strong  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  a  higher  authority  for  any  ceremonial  insti- 
tution. And  among  those  arguments  one  of  the  fore- 
most is  the  sympathy  which  the  institution  fosters 
between  the  student  of  the  Bible  and  the  book  which 
he  studies. 

This  tendency  to  go  back  to  the  childhood  and 
youth  of  the  world  has,  of  course,  retarded  the  acquisi- 
tion of  tliat  toleration  which  is  the  chief  philosophical 
and  religious  lesson  of  modern  days.  Unc[uestionably 
as  bigoted  a  spirit  has  often  been  shown  in  defence  of 
some  practice  for  which  the  sanction  of  the  Bible  had 
been  claimed,  as  before  the  Reformation  in  defence  of 
the  decrees  of  the  Church.  But  no  lesson  is  well 
learned  all  at  once.  To  learn  toleration  well  and  really, 
to  let  it  become,  not  a  philosophical  tenet  but  a  prac- 
tical principle,  to  join  it  with  real  religiousness  of  life 
and  character,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  it  should 
break  in  upon  the  mind  by  slow  and  steady  degrees, 
and  that  at  every  point  its  right  to  go  further  should 
be  disputed,  and  so  forced  to  logical  proof.  For  it  is 
only  by  virtue  of  the  opposition  which  it  has  sur- 
mounted that  any  truth  can  stand  in  the  human  mind. 
The  strongest  argument  in  favour  of  tolerating  all 
opinions  is  that  our  conviction  of  the  truth  of  an 
opinion  is  worthless  unless  it  has  established  itself  in 
p^  ^V  spite  of  tUe^iost  strenuousj:esistance,  and  is  still  pre- 
\  •^v"^ Spared  to  overcome  tlie  same  resistance,  if  necessary. 
'r,v-*X,''j^t  xlToleration  itself  is  no  exception  to  the  universal  law; 
^'^^^^^^^^.j^  and  those  who  must  regret  the  slow  progress  by  which 
"^C^^  >/\^ '' ^  it  wins  its  way,  may  remember  that  this  slowness 
r^^'^  makes  the  final  victory  the  more  certain  and  complete. 

Nor  is  that  all.  The  toleration  thus  obtained  is 
diHerent  in  kind  from  what  it  would  otherwise  have 
been.  It  is  not  only  stronger,  it  is  richer  and 
fuller.  For  the  slowness  of  its  progress  gives  time 
to  disentangle  from   dogmatism  the  really  valuable 


The  Education  of  the  World.  47 

principles  and  sentiments  which  have  been  mixed  up 
and  entwined  in  it,  and  to  unite  toleration,  not  with 
indifference  and  worldliness,  but  with  spiritual  truth 
and  religiousness  of  life. 

Even  the  perverted  use  of  tlie  Bible  has  therefore 
not  been  without  certain  great  advantages.  And 
meanwhile  how  utterly  impossible  it  would  be  in  the 
manhood  of  the  world  to  imagine  any  other  instructor 
of  mankind.  And  for  that  reason,  every  day  makes 
it  more  and  more  evident  that  the  thorough  study  of  • 
the  Bible,  the  investigation  of  what  it  teaches  and 
what  it  does  not  teach,  the  determination  of  the 
limits  of  what  we  mean  by  its  inspiration,  the  de- 
termination of  the  degree  of  authority  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  different  books,  if  any  degrees  are  to  be  ad- 
mitted, must  take  the  lead  of  all  other  studies.  He 
is  guilty  of  high  treason  against  the  faith  who  fears 
the  result  of  any  investigation,  whether  philosophical, 
or  scientific,  or  historical.  And  therefore  nothing; 
should  be  more  welcome  than  the  extension  of  know- 
ledge of  any  and  every  kind — for  every  increase  in 
our  accumulations  of  knowledge  throws  fresh  light 
upon  these  the  real  problems  of  our  day.  If  geology  "^ 
proves  to  us  that  we  must  not  interpret  the  first 
chapters  of  Grenesis  literally ;  if  historical  investiga-  ^^ 
tions  shall  show  us  that  inspiration,  however  it  may 
protect  the  doctrine,  yet  was  not  empowered  to  pro- 
tect the  narrative  of  the  inspired  writers  from  occa- 
sional inaccuracy  ;  if  careful  criticism  shall  prove  that 
there  have  been  occasionally  interpolations  and  forgeries 
in  that  Book,  as  in  many  others ;  the  results  should  - 
still  be  welcome.  Even  the  mistakes  of  careful  and 
reverent  students  are  more  valuable  now  than  truth 
held  in  unthinking  acquiescence.  The  substance  of 
the  teaching  which  we  derive  from  the  Bible  will 
not  really  be  affected  by  anything  of  this  sort.  While 
its  hold  upon  the  minds  of  believers,  and  its  power  to 
stir  the  depths  of  the  spirit  of  man,  however  much 


48  The  Education  of  the  World. 

weakened  at  first,  must  be  immeasurabl}^  strengthened 
in  tlie  end,  by  clearing  away  any  blunders  which  may 
have  been  fastened  on  it  by  human  interpretation. 

The  immediate  work  of  our  day  is  the  study  of  the 
Bible.  Other  studies  will  act  upon  the  progress  of 
mankind  by  acting  through  and  upon  this.  For 
while  a  few  highly  educated  men  here  and  there  who 
have  given  their  minds  to  special  pursuits  may  think 
the  study  of  the  Bible  a  thing  of  the  past,  yet 
assuredly,  if  their  science  is  to  have  its  effect  upon 
men  in  the  mass,  it  must  be  by  affecting  their  moral 
and  religious  convictions — in  no  other  way  have  men 
been,  or  can  men  be,  deeply  and  permanently  changed. 
But  though  this  study  must  be  for  the  present  and 
for  some  time  the  centre  of  all  studies,  there  is  mean- 
vdiile  no  study  of  whatever  kind  which  will  not  have 
its  share  in  the  general  effect.  At  this  time,  in  the 
maturity  of  mankind,  as  with  each  man  in  the  matu- 
rity of  his  powers,  the  great  lever  which  moves  the 
world  is  knowledge,  the  great  force  is  the  intellect. 
St.  Paul  has  told  us  '  that  though  in  malice  we  must 
be  children,  in  understanding  we  ought  to  be  men.' 
And  this  saying  of  his  has  the  widest  range.  Not 
only  in  the  understanding  of  religious  truth,  but  in 
all  exercise  of  the  intellectual  powers,  we  have  no 
right  to  stop  short  of  any  limit  but  that  which 
nature,  that  is,  the  decree  of  the  Creator,  has  imposed 
on  us.  In  fact,  no  knowledge  can  be  without  its 
effect  on  religious  convictions ;  for  if  not  capable  of 
throwing  direct  light  on  some  spiritual  questions,  yet 
in  its  acquisition  knowledge  invariably  throws  light 
on  the  process  by  which  it  is  to  be,  or  has  been, 
acquired,  and  thus  affects  all  other  knowledge  of  every 
kind. 

If  we  have  made  mistakes,  careful  study  may  teach 
us  better.  If  we  have  quarrelled  about  words,  the 
enlightenment  of  the  understanding  is  the  best  means 
to  show  us  our  folly.     If  we  have  vainly  puzzled  our 


The  Education  of  the  World.  49 

intellects  with  subjects  beyond  human  cognizance, 
better  knowledge  of  ourselves  will  help  us  to  be 
humbler.  Life,  indeed,  is  higher  than  all  else ;  and 
no  service  that  man  can  render  to  his  fellows  is  to  be 
compared  with  the  heavenly  power  of  a  life  of  holi- 
ness. But  next  to  that  must  be  ranked,  whatever 
tends  to  make  men  think  clearly  and  judge  correctly. 
So  valuable,  even  above  all  things  (excepting  only  god- 
liness), is  clear  thought,  that  the  labours  of  the  states- 
man are  far  below  those  of  the  philosopher  in  duration, 
in  power,  and  in  beneficial  results.  Thought  is  now 
higher  than  action,  unless  action  be  inspired  with  the 
very  breath  of  heaven.  For  we  are  now  men,  governed 
by  principles,  if  governed  at  all,  and  cannot  rely  an}^ 
longer  on  the  impulses  of  youth  or  the  discipline  of 
childhood. 


'f[\t^   I 


BUNSEN'S  BIBLICAL  RESEARCHES. 


WHEN  geologists  began  to  ask  whether  changes 
in  the  earth's  structure  might  be  explained  by 
causes  still  in  operation,  they  did  not  disprove  the 
possibility  of  great  convulsions,  but  they  lessened  the 
necessity  for  imagining  them.  So,  if  a  theologian 
has  his  eyes  opened  to  the  Divine  energy  as  continuous 
and  omnipresent,  he  lessens  the  sharp  contrast  of 
epochs  in  Eevelation,  but  need  not  assume  that  the 
stream  has  never  varied  in  its  flow.  Devotion  raises 
time  present  into  the  sacredness  of  the  past ;  while 
Criticism  reduces  the  strangeness  of  the  past  into 
harmony  with  the  present.  Faith  and  Prayer  (and 
great  marvels  answering  to  them)  do  not  pass  away  : 
but,  in  prolonging  their  range  as  a  whole,  we  make 
their  parts  less  exceptional.  We  hardly  discern  the 
truth,  ibr  which  they  are  anxious,  until  we  distinguish 
«it  from  associations  accidental  to  their  domain.  The 
truth  itself  may  have  been  apprehended  in  various 
degrees  by  servants  of  God,  of  old,  as  now.  Instead 
of,  with  Tertullian,  what  icas  first  is  truest,  we  may  say, 
what  comes  of  God  is  true,  and  He  is  not  only  afar, 
but  nigh  at  hand  ;  though  His  mind  is  not  changed. 

Questions  of  miraculous  interference  do  not  turn 
merely  upon  our  conceptions  of  phj^sical  law,  as  un- 
broken, or  of  the  Divine  Will,  as  all-pervading  :  but 
they  include  inquiries  into  evidence,  and  must  abide 
by  verdicts  on  the  age  of  records.  Nor  should  the 
distinction  between  poetry  and  prose,  and  the  possi- 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  51 

bility  of  imagination's  allying  itself  with  affection, 
be  overlooked.  We  cannot  encourage  a  remorseless 
criticism  of  Gentile  histories  and  escape  its  contagion 
when  we  approach  Hebrew  annals  ;  nor  acknowledge 
a  Providence  in  Jewry  witliout  owning  that  it  may 
have  comprehended  sanctities  elsewhere.  But  the 
moment  we  examine  fairly  the  religions  of  India  and  of 
Arabia,  or  even  those  of  primeval  Hellas  and  Latium, 
we  find  they  appealed  to  the  better  side  of  our  nature 
and  their  essential  strength  lay  in  the  elements  of 
good  which  they  contained,  rather  than  in  any  satanic 
corruption. 

Thus  considerations,  religious  and  moral,  no  less 
than  scientific  and  critical,  have,  where  discussion  was 
free,  widened  theidea  of  Revelation  for  the  old  world, and 
deepened  it  for  ourselves  ;  not  removing  the  footsteps 
of  the  Eternal  from  Palestine,  but  tracing  them  on 
other  shores;  and  not  making  the  saints  of  old  orphans, 
but  ourselves  partakers  of  their  sonship.  Conscience 
would  not  lose  by  exchanging  that  repressive  idea  of 
revelation,  which  is  put  over  against  it  as  an  adversary, 
for  one  to  which  the  echo  of  its  best  instincts  should 
be  the  witness.  The  moral  constituents  of  our  nature, 
so  often  contrasted  with  Revelation,  should  rather  be 
considered  parts  of  its  instrumentality.  Those  cases 
in  which  we  accept  the  miracle  for  the  sake  of  the 
moral  lesson  prove  the  ethical  element  to  be  the  more 
fundamental.  We  see  this  more  clearly  if  we  imagine 
a  miracle  of  cruelty  wrought  (as  by  Antichrist)  for 
immoral  ends  \  for  tlien  only  the  technically  mira- 
culous has  its  value  isolated ;  whereas  by  appealing  to 
yoo^-/ 'works'  (however wonderful)  for  his  witness, Christ 
has  taught  us  to  have  faith  mainly  in  goodness.  This 
is  too  much  overlooked  by  some  apologists.  But  there 
is  hardly  any  greater  question  than  whether  history 
shows  Almighty  God  to  have  trained  mankind  by  a 
faith  which  has  reason  and  conscience  for  its  kindred, 
or  by  one  to  whose  miraculous  tests  their  pride  must 

E  % 


52  Bunsens  Biblical  BesearcJies. 

bow ;  that  is,  whether  His  Holy  Spirit  has  acted 
through  the  channels  wliich  His  Providence  ordained, 
or  whether  it  has  departed  from  these  so  signally 
that  comparative  mistrust  of  them  ever  afterwards 
becomes  a  duty.  The  first  alternative,  though  in- 
vidiously termed  philosophical,  is  that  to  which  free 
nations  and  Evangelical  thinkers  tend;  the  second  has 
a  greater  show  of  religion,  but  allies  itself  naturally 
with  priestcraft  or  formalism  ;  and  not  rarely  with 
corruptness  of  administration  or  of  life. 

In  this  issue  converge  many  questions  anciently 
stirred,  but  recurring  in  our  daylight  with  almost 
uniform^  accession  of  strengtli  to  the  liberal  side. 
Such  questions  turn  cliiefly  on  the  law  of  growth, 
traceable  throughout  the  Bible,  as  in  the  world ;  and 
partly  on  science,  or  historical  inquiry:  but  no  less  on 
the  deeper  revelations  of  the  New  Testament,  as  com- 
pared to  those  of  the  Old.  If  we  are  to  retain  the 
old  Anglican  foundations  of  research  and  fair  state- 
ment, we  must  revise  some  of  the  decisions  provi- 
sionally given  upon  imperfect  evidence ;  or,  if  we 
shrink  from  doing  so,  we  must  abdicate  our  ancient 
claim  to  build  upon  the  truth  ;  and,  our  retreat  will 
be  either  to  Eome,  as  some  of  our  lost  ones  have 
consistently  seen,  or  to  some  form,  equally  evil,  of 
darkness  voluntary.  The  attitude  of  too  many  Eng- 
lish scholars  before  the  last  Monster  out  of  the  Deep 
is  that  of  the  degenerate  senators  before  Tiberius. 
They  stand,  balancing  terror  against  mutual  shame. 
Even  with  those  in  our  universities  who  no  longer  re- 


'  It  is  very  remarkable  that,  amidst  all  our  Biblical  illustration  from 
recent  travellers,  Layard,  Eawlinson,  Robinson,  Stanley,  &c.,  no  single 
point  has  been  discovered  to  tell  in  favour  of  an  irrational  supernaturalism; 
whereas  numerous  discoveries  have  confirmed  the  more  liberal  (not  to  say, 
rationalizing)  criticism  which  traces  Eevelation  historicallj'  within  the 
sphere  of  nature  and  humanity.  Such  is  the  moral,  both  of  the  Assyrian 
discoveries,  and  ot  all  travels  in  the  East,  as  well  as  the  verdict  of  philologers 
at  home.     Mr.  G.  Eawlinson's  proof  of  this  is  stronger,  because  undesigned. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  53^ 

peat  fully  tlie  required  Sliibboletlis,  tlie  explicitness  of 
truth  is  rare.  He  who  assents  most,  committing  him- 
self least  to  baseness,  is  reckoned  wisest. 

Bunsen's  enduring  glory  is  neither  to  have  paltered 
with  his  conscience  nor  shrunk  from  the  difficulties 
of  the  problem ;  but  to  have  brought  a  vast  erudition, 
in  the  lio-ht  of  a  Christian  conscience,  to  unroll 
tangled  records,  tracing  frankly  the  Spirit  of  God 
elsewhere,  but  honouring  chiell}'  the  traditions  of  His 
Hebrew  sanctuary.  No  living  author's  works  could 
furnish  so  pregnant  a  text  for  a  discourse  on  Biblical 
criticism.  Passing  over  some  specialities  of  Lutheran- 
ism,  we  may  meet  in  the  field  of  research  which  is 
common  to  scholars ;  while  even  here,  the  sympathy, 
which  justifies  respectful  exposition,  need  not  imply 
entire  agreement. 

In  the  great  work  upon  Egypt, ^  the  later  volumes 
of  which  are  now  appearing  in  English,  we  do  not 
find  that  picture  of  home  life  which  meets  us  in  the 
pages  of  our  countryman,  Sir  G.  Wilkinson.  The 
interest  for  robust  scholars  is  not  less,  in  the  fruitful 
comparison  of  the  oldest  traditions  of  our  race,  and  in 
the  giant  shapes  of  ancient  empires,  which  flit  like 
dim  shadows,  evoked  by  a  master's  hand.  But  for 
those  who  seek  chiefly  results,  there  is  something  weari- 
some in  the  elaborate  discussion  of  authorities  ;  and,  it 
must  be  confessed,  the  German  refinement  of  method 
has  all  the  effect  of  confusion.  To  g-ive  details  here 
is  impossible  (though  the  more  any  one  scrutinizes 
them,  the  more  substantial  he  will  find  them),  and 
this  sketch  must  combine  suggestions,  which  the 
author  has  scattered  strangely  apart,  and  sometimes 
repeated  without  perfect  consistency.  He  dwells  largely 
upon  Herodotus,  Eratosthenes,  and  their  successors, 
from  ChampoUion  and  Young  to  Lepsius.     Especially 


'  Egypt's  Place  in  Universal  History,  by  Christian  C.  J.  Bunsen,  &c. 
Loudon,  1848,  vol.  i.     1854,  vol.  ii. 


54  Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

the  dynastic  records  of  the  Ptolemaic  priest,  Manetho/ 
are  compared  with  the  accounts  of  the  stone  monu- 
ments. The  result,  if  we  can  receive  it,  is  to  vindicate 
for  the  civilized  kingdom  of  Egypt,  from  Menes  down- 
ward, an  antiquity  of  nearly  four  thousand  years  before 
Christ.  There  is  no  point  in  which  archaeologists  of  all 
shades  were  so  nearly  unanimous  as  in  the  belief  that 
our  Biblical  chronology  was  too  narrow  in  its  limits ; 
and  the  enlargement  of  our  views,  deduced  from 
Egyptian  records,  is  extended  by  our  author's  reason- 
ings on  the  development  of  commerce  and  government, 
and  still  more  of  languages,  and  physical  features  of 
race.  He  coukl  not  have  vindicated  the  unity  of 
mankind  if  he  had  not  asked  for  a  vast  ex,tension  of 
time,  whether  his  petition  of  twenty  tliousand  ^^ears 
be  granted  or  not.  The  mention  of  such  a  term  may 
appear  monstrous  to  those  who  regard  six  thousand 
years  as  a  part  of  Revelation.  Yet  it  is  easier  to  throw 
doubt  on  some  of  the  arguments  than  to  show  that 
the  conclusion  in  favour  of  a  vast  length  is  impro- 
bable. If  pottery  in  a  river's  mud  proves  little,  its 
tendency  may  agree  witli  that  of  the  discovery  of  very 
ancient  pre-historic  remains  in  many  parts  of  the 
world.  Again,  how  many  years  are  needed  to  de- 
velope  modern  French  out  of  Latin,  and  Latin  itself 
out  of  its  original  crude  forms  ?  How  unlike  is 
English  to  Welsh,  and  Greek  to  Sanskrit— yet  all 
indubitably  of  one  family  of  languages  !  What  years 
were  required  to  create  the  existing  divergence  of 
members  of  this  family  !     How  many  more  for  other 


'  See  an  account  of  him,  and  his  tables,  in  the  Byzantine  Syncellus,  pp. 
72-T45,  vol.  i.,  ed.  Dind.,  in  the  Corpus  Historice  Bj/zantince,  Bonn.  1829. 
But  with  this  is  to  be  compared  the  Armenian  version  of  Eusebius's  Chro- 
nology, discovered  by  Cardinal  Mai.  The  text,  the  interpretation,  and  the 
historical  fidelity,  are  all  controverted.  Baron  Bunsen's  treatment  of  them 
deserves  the  provisional  acceptance  due  to  elaborate  research,  with  no  slight 
concurrence  of  probabilities  ;  and  ii'  it  should  not  ultimately  win  a  favour- 
able verdict  from  Egyptologers,  no  one  who  summarily  rejects  it  us 
arbitrary  or  impossible  can  have  aright  to  be  on  the  jury. 


Btinsens  Biblical  Besearches.  55 

families,  separated  by  a  wide  gulf  from  this,  yet  retain- 
ing traces  of  a  primeval  aboriginal  affinity,  to  have 
developed  themselves,  either  in  priority  or  colhxte- 
rally  !  The  same  consonantal  roots,  appearing  either 
as  verbs  inflected  witli  great  variety  of  gram- 
matical form,  or  as  nouns  with  case-endings  in  some 
languages,  and  with  none  in  others,  plead  as  con- 
vincingly as  the  succession  of  strata  in  geology,  for 
enormous  lapses  of  time.  When,  again,  we  have 
traced  our  Gaelic  and  our  Sanskrit  to  their  inferential 
pre-Hellenic  stem,  and  when  reason  has  convinced 
us  that  the  Semitic  languages  which  had  as  distinct 
an  individuality  four  thousand  years  ago  as  they 
have  now,  require  a  cradle  of  larger  dimensions 
than  Archbishop  Ussher's  chronology,  what  farther 
effort  is  not  forced  upon  our  imagination,  if  we 
would  guess  the  measure  of  the  dim  background  in 
which  the  Mongolian  and  Egyptian  languages,  older 
probably  than  the  Hebrew,  became  fixed,  growing 
early  into  the  tyj)e  which  they  retain  ?  Do  we  see 
an  historical  area  of  nations  and  languages  extending 
itself  over  nearly  ten  thousand  years :  and  can  we 
imagine  less  than  another  ten  thousand,  during  which 
the  possibilities  of  these  things  took  body  and  form  ? 
Questions  of  this  kind  require  from  most  of  us  a 
special  training  for  each :  but  Baron  Bunsen  revels 
in  them,  and  his  theories  are  at  least  suggestive. 
He  shows  what  Egypt  had  in  common  with  that 
primeval  Asiatic  stock,  represented  by  Ham,  out  of 
which,  as  raw  material,  he  conceives  the  divergent 
families,  termed  Indo-European'  and  Semitic  (or  the 
kindreds  of  Europe  and  of  Palestine),  to  have  been 


'  The  common  tei'ui  was  Indo-Germanic.  Dr.  Pricliard,  on  bringing  the 
Gael  and  Cymry  into  the  same  family,  required  the  wider  term  Indo- 
European.  Historical  reasons,  chiefly  in  connexion  with  Sanskrit,  are 
bringing  the  term  Aryan  (or  Aryas)  into  fashion.  We  may  adopt  which- 
ever is  intelligible,  without  excluding,  perhaps,  a  Turanian  or  African 
element  surviving  in  South  Wales.     Turanian  means  nearly  Mongolian. 


56  Bunsetis  Biblical  JRcscarcJias. 

later  developed.  Ninirod  is  considered  as  the  Biblical 
representative  of  the  earlier  stock,  whose  ruder 
lano'iiag-e  is  continued,  by  affiliation  or  by  analogy, 
in  the  jNIongolian  races  of  Asia  and  in  the  negroes 
of  Africa. 

The  traditions  of  Babylon,  Sidon,  Assyria,  and  Iran, 
are  brought  b}'  our  author  to  illustrate  and  confirm, 
I  though  to  modify,  our  interpretation  of  Genesis.  It 
is  strange  how  nearly  those  ancient  cosmogonies^ 
approach  what  may  be  termed  the  philosophy  of 
Moses,  while  they  fall  short  in  what  Longinus  called 
his  '  worthy  conception  of  the  divinity.'  Our  deluge 
takes  its  place  among  geological  phenomena,  no  longer 
a  disturbance  of  law  from  which  science  shrinks,  but 
a  prolonged  play  of  the  forces  of  fire  and  water,  ren- 
dering the  primeval  regions  of  North  Asia  uninha- 
bitable, and  urging  the  nations  to  new  abodes.  We 
learn  approximately  its  antiquity,  and  infer  limitation 
in  its  range,  from  hnding  it  recorded  in  the  traditions 
of  Iran  and  Palestine  (or  of  Japhet  and  Shem),  but 
unknown  to  the  Egyptians  and  Mongolians,  who  left 
earlier  the  cradle  of  mankind.  In  the  half  ideal  half 
traditional  notices"  of  the  beginnings  of  our  race, 
compiled  in  Genesis,  we  are  bid  notice  the  combination 
of  documents,  and  the  recurrence  of  barely  consistent 
genealogies.  As  the  man  Adam  begets  Cain,  the 
man  Enos  begets  Cainan.  Jared  and  Irad,  Methu- 
selah and  Methusael,  are  similarly  compared.  Seth, 
like  El,  is  an  old  deity's  appellation,  and  Man  was 
the  son  of  Seth  in  one  record,  as  Adam  was  the  son 
of  God  in  the  other.  One  could  wish  the  puzzling 
circumstance,  that  the  etymology  of  some  of  the  earlier 
names  seems  strained  to  suit  the  present  form  of  the 
narrative  had  been  explained.     That  our  author  would 


'^  Aegyptens  Stelle  in  der   Weltgeschiehte,  pp.   186-400 ;    B.   v.   1-3, 
Gotha.     1856. 

-  ^e(/_j'/'^e«'s  iSieZ^e,  &c.,  B.  V.  4,  5,  pp.  50-142.     Gotha.     1857. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  57 

not  slirink  from  noticing  this,  is  shown  by  the  firmness 
with  which  he  relegates  the  long  lives  of  the  first 
patriarchs  to  the  domain  of  legend,  or  of  sj'mbolical 
cjcle.     He  reasonably  conceives  that  the  historical 
portion  begins  with  Abraham,    where  the  lives  be- 
come natural,  and  information  was  nearer.     A  scepti- 
cal criticism  might,  indeed,  ask,  by  what  right    he 
assumes  that  the  moral  dimensions  of  our  spiritual 
heroes  can  not  have  been  idealized  by  tradition,  as  he 
admits  to  have  been  the  case  with  physical  events 
and  with  chronology  rounded  into  epical  shape.     But 
the  first  principles  of  his  philosophy,  which  fixes  on 
personality  (or  what  we  might  call  force  of  character) 
as  the  great  organ  of  DiWne  manife.station  in  the 
world,  and  his  entire  method  of  handling  the  Bible, 
lead  him  to  insist  on  the  genuineness,  and  to  magnify 
the  force,  of  spiritual  ideas,  and  of  the  men  who  exem- 
plified them.     Hence  on  the  side  of  religion,  he  does 
not  intentionally  violate  that  reverence  with  which 
Evangelical  thinkers   view  the   fathers   of  our  faith. 
To  Abraham  and  Moses,   Elijah   and   Jeremiah,  he 
renders  grateful  honour.        Even  in  archaeology  his 
scepticism  does  not  outrun  the  suspicions  often  be- 
trayed in  our  popular  mind  ;    and  he  limits,  while  he 
confirms  these,  by  showing  how  far  they  have  ground. 
But   as  he   says,  with  quaint   strength,  '  there  is  no 
chronological  element  in  Eevelation.'     Without  bor- 
rowing the  fifteen  centuries  which  the  Grreek  Church 
and  the  Septuagint  would  lend  us,  we  see,  from  com- 
paring the  Bible  with  the  Egyptian  records  and  with 
itself,  that  our  common  dates  are  wronsr,  thousrh  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  say  how  they  should  be  rectified.     The 
idea  of  bringing  Abraham  into  Egypt  as  early  as  2876 
B.C.  is  one  of  our  author's  most  doubtful  points,  and 
may  seem  hardly  tenable.     But  he  wanted  time  for 
the  growth   of  Jacob's  famil}'  into  a  people  of  two 
millions,  and  he  felt  bound  to  place  Joseph  under 
a   native  Pharaoh,    therefore,    before    the    Shepherd 


58  Bunsens  Biblical  Researches. 

Kings.  He  also  contends  that  Abraham's  horizon  in 
Asia  is  antecedent  to  the  first  Median  conquest  of 
Babylon  in  2234.  A  famine,  conveniently  mentioned 
under  the  twelfth  dynasty  of  Egypt,  completes  his 
proof.  Sesortosis,  therefore,  is  the  Pharaoh  to  whom 
Joseph  was  minister  ;  the  stay  of  the  Israelites  in 
Egypt  is  extended  to  fourteen  centuries  ;  and  the  date 
215  represents  the  time  of  oppression.  Some  of  these 
details  are  sufiiciently  doubtful  to  afford  ground  of 
attack  to  writers  whose  real  quarrel  is  with  our  author's 
Biblical  research,  and  its  more  certain,  but  not  therefore 
more  welcome,  conclusions.  It  is  easier  to  follow  him 
implicitly  when  he  leads  us,  in  virtue  of  an  overwhelm- 
ing concurrence  of  Egyptian  records,  and  of  all  the 
probabilities  of  the  case,  to  place  the  Exodus  as  late  as 
1320  or  1 3 14.  The  event  is  more  natural  in  Egypt's 
decline  under  Menephthah,  the  exiled  son  of  the  great 
Eamses,  than  amidst  the  splendour  of  the  eighteenth 
dynasty.  It  cannot  well  have  been  earlier,  or  the 
Book  of  Judges  must  have  mentioned  the  conquest  of 
Canaan  by  Bamses ;  nor  later,  for  then  Joshua  would 
come  in  collision  with  the  new  empire  of  Ninus  and 
Semiramis.  But  Manetho  places,  under  Menephthah, 
what  seems  the  Egyptian  version  of  the  event,  and  the 
year  1314,  one  of  our  alternatives,  is  the  date  assigned 
it  by  Jewish  tradition.  Not  only  is  the  historical 
reality  of  the  Exodus  thus  vindicated  against  thei 
dreams  of  the  Drummonds  and  the  Volneys,  but  a 
new  interest  is  given  it  by  its  connexion  with  the  rise 
and  fall  of  great  empires.  We  can  understand  how 
the  ruin  on  which  Ninus  rose  made  room  in  Canaan 
for  the  Israelites,  and  how  they  I'ell  again  under  the 
satraps  of  the  New  Empire,  who  appear  in  the  Book 
of  Judges  as  kings  of  the  provinces.  Only,  if  we 
accept  the  confirmation,  we  must  take  all  its  parts. 
Manetho  makes  tlie  conquerors  before  whom  Meneph- 
thah retreats  into  Ethiopia  Syrian  shepherds,  and 
gives  the  human  side  of  an  invasion,  or  war  of  libera- 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  59 

tioii  ;^  Baron  Bunsen  notices  the  '  liigli  hand '  with 
which  Jehovah  led  forth  his  people,  the  spoiling  of  the 
Egyptians,  and  the  lingering  in  the  peninsula,  as 
signs,  even  in  the  Bible,  of  a  struggle  conducted  b}^ 
human  means.  Thus,  as  the  pestilence  of  the  Book 
of  Kings  becomes  in  Chronicles  the  more  visible  angel, 
so  the  avenger  who  slew  the  firstborn  may  have  been 
the  Bedouin  host,  akin  nearly  to  Jethro,  and  more 
remotely  to  Israel. 

So  in  the  passage  of  the  Eed  Sea,  the  description 
may  be  interpreted  with  the  latitude  of  poetry:  though 
as  it  is  not  affirmed  that  Pharaoh  was  drowned,  it  is 
no  serious  objection  that  Egyptian  authorities  continue 
the  reign  of  Menephthah  later.  A  greater  difficulty  is 
that  we  find  but  three  centuries  thus  left  us  from  the 
Exodus  to  Solomon's  Temple.  Yet  less  stress  will  be 
laid  on  this  by  whoever  notices  how  the  numbers  in  the 
Book  of  Judges  proceed  by  the  eastern  round  number 
of  forty,  what  traces  the  whole  book  bears  of  embody- 
ing history  in  its  most  popular  form,  and  how  naturally 
St.  Paul  or  St.  Stephen  would  speak  after  received 
accounts. 

It  is  not  the  importance  severally,  but  the  continual 
recurrence  of  such  difficulties,  which  bears  with  ever- 
grov/ing  induction  upon  the  question,  whether  the 
Pentateuch  is  of  one  age  and  hand,  and  whether  sub- 
gequent  books  are  contemporary  with  the  events,  or 
whether  the  whole  literature  grew  like  a  tree  rooted 
in  the  varying  thoughts  of  successive  generations,  and 
whether  traces  of  editorship,  if  not  of  composition, 
between  the  ag-es  of  Solomon  and  Hezekiah,  are  mani- 
fest  to  whoever  will  recognise  them.     Baron  Bunsen 


^  vofiov  idero  firjre  TvpotTiivvelv  Qeovs  ....  (TVudTrreaoai  oe  firjoevi 
ttKtjv  ra>v  a-vvuniorr fievcuV  avros  8i  ....  ene/JLyj^e  Ttpicr^fis 
TTpos  Tovs  VTTO  l!idjxihai(i)i  aTviKiiOiVTas  TToifievas  .  .  .  .  Ka\  ^^lov 
a-vveTria-Tpareveiv  k.t.X.  Manetho,  apud  Jos.  c.  Apioii.  The  vvhule 
passage  has  the  stamp  of  genuine  history. 


60  Btinsens  Biblical  RescarcJies. 

finds  himself  compelled  to  adopt  the  alternative  of 
gradual  growth.  He  makes  the  Pentateuch  Mosaic, 
as  indicating  the  mind  and  embodying  the  developed 
system  of  Moses,  rather  than  as  written  by  the  great 
lawgiver's  hand.  Numerous  fragments  of  genealogy, 
of  chronicle,  and  of  spiritual  song  go  up  to  a  high 
antiquity,  but  are  embedded  in  a  crust  of  later  narra- 
tive, the  allusions  of  which  betray  at  least  a  time 
when  kings  were  established  in  Israel.  Hence  the 
idea  of  composition  out  of  older  materials  must  be 
admitted;  and  it  may  in  some  cases  be  conceived  that 
the  compiler's  point  of  view  differed  from  that  of  the 
older  pieces,  which  yet  he  faithfully  preserved.  If  the 
more  any  one  scrutinizes  the  sacred  text,  the  more  he 
finds  himself  impelled  to  these  or  like  conclusions 
respecting  it,  the  accident  of  such  having  been  alleged 
by  men  more  critical  than  devout  should  not  make 
Christians  shrink  from  them.  We  need  not  fear  that 
what  God  has  permitted  to  be  true  in  history  can  be 
at  war  with  the  faith  in  Himself  taught  us  by  His 
Son. 

As  in  his  Ef/i/pt  our  author  sifts  the  historical  date 
of  the  Bible,  so  in  his  Gott  in  der  Geschiclite,^  he 
expounds  its  directly  religious  element.  Lamenting, 
like  Pascal,  the  wretchedness  of  our  feverish  being, 
when  estranged  from  its  eternal  stay,  he  traces,  as  a 
countryman  of  Hegel,  the  Divine  thought  bringing 
order  out  of  confusion.  Unlike  the  despairing  school, 
who  forbid  us  trust  in  God  or  in  conscience,  unless  we 
kill  our  souls  with  literalism,  he  finds  salvation  for 
men  and  States  only  in  becomhig  acquainted  with  the 
Author  of  our  life,  by  whose  reason  the  world  stands 
fast,  whose  stamp  we  bear  in  our  forethought,  and 
whose  voice  our  conscience  echoes.  In  the  Bible,  as 
an  expression  of  devout  reason,  and  therefore  to   be 


1   Gott  in  der  Gescldclite  (i.e.   the    Divine   Government   in    History). 
Books  i.  and  ii.     Leipzig.     1857. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches.  61 

read  with  reason  in  freedom,  he   finds   record  of  the 
spiritual  giants  whose  experience  generated  the  reli- 
gious  atmosphere  we   breathe.     For,  as   in  law   and 
literature,  so  in  religion  we  are  debtors  to  our  ances- 
tors ;  but  their  life  must  find  in  us  a  kindred  appre- 
hension, else  it  would  not  quicken  ;  and  we  must  give 
back  what  we  have  received,  or  perish  by  unfaithful- 
ness to  our  trust.     Abraham  the  friend  of  Grod,  Moses 
the  inspired  patriot,  Elijah  the  preacher  of  the  still 
small  voice,  and  Jeremiah  the  foreseer  of  a  law  written 
on  the  conscience,  are  not  ancestors  of  Pharisees  who 
inherit  their  flesh  and  name,  so  much  as  of  kindred 
spirits  who  put  trust  in  a  righteous  God  above  offer- 
ings of  blood,  who  build  up  free  nations  by  wisdom, 
who  speak  truth  in  simplicity  though  four  hundred 
priests  cry  out  for  falsehood,  and  who  make  self-exa- 
mination before  the  Searcher  of  hearts  more  sacred 
than  the  confessional.     When  the  fierce  ritual  of  Syria, 
with  the  awe  of  a  Divine  voice,  bade  Abraham  slay  his 
son,  he  did  not  reflect  that  he  had  no  perfect  theory  of 
the  absolute  to  justify  him  in  departing  from  tradi- 
tional revelation,  but  trusted  that  the  Father,  whose 
voice  from  heaven  he  heard  at  heart,  was  better  pleased 
with  mercy  than  with  sacrifice  ;  and  this  trust  was  his 
righteousness.     Its   seed  was  sown  from  heaven,  but 
it  grew  in  the  soil  of  an  honest  and  good  heart.     So 
in  each  case  we  trace  principles  of  reason  and  right,  to 
which  our  heart  perpetually  responds,  and  our  response 
to  which  is  a  truer  sign  of  faith  than  such  deference 
to  a  supposed   external   authority   as   would  quench 
these  principles  themselves. 

It  may  be  thought  that  Baron  Bunsen  ignores  too 
peremptorily  the  sacerdotal  element  in  the  Bible,  for- 
getting how  it  moulded  the  form  of  the  history.  He 
certainly  separates  the  Mosaic  institutions  from 
Egyptian  affinity  more  tlian  our  Sj)encer  and  War- 
burton  would  permit ;  more,  it  seems,  than  Hengsten- 
berg  considers  necessary.    But  the  distinctively  Mosaic 


62  Bunsens  Biblical  Researches. 

is  with  him,  not  the  ritual,  but  the  spiritual,  which 
generated  the  other,  hut  was  overlaid  by  it.  Moses, 
he  thinks,  would  gladly  have  founded  a  free  religious 
society,  in  which  the  primitive  tables  written  by  the 
Divine  finger  on  man's  heart  should  have  been  law ; 
but  the  rudeness  or  hardness  of  his  people's  heart 
compelled  him  to  a  sacerdotal  system  and  formal 
tablets  of  stone.  In  favour  of  this  view,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  the  tone  of  some  passages  in  Exodus 
appears  less  sacerdotal  than  that  of  later  books  in  the 
Pentateuch.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  the  truly  Mosaic 
(according  to  our  author)  is  not  the  Judaic,  but  the 
essentially  human;  and  it  is  not  the  Semitic  form, 
often  divergent  from  our  modes  of  conception,  but  the 
eternal  truths  of  a  rigliteous  Grod,  and  of  the  spiritual 
sacrifices  with  which  He  is  pleased,  that  we  ought  to 
recognise  as  most  characteristic  of  the  Bible ;  and 
these  truths  the  same  Spirit  which  spoke  of  old 
speaks,  through  all  variety  of  phrase,  in  ourselves. 

That  there  was  a  Bible  before  our  Bible,  and  that 
some  of  our  present  books,  as  certainl}^  Genesis  and 
Joshua,  and  perhaps  Job,  Jonah,  Daniel,  are  expanded 
from  simpler  elements,  is  indicated  in  the  book  before 
us  rather  than  proved  as  it  might  be.  Fuller  details 
may  be  expected  in  the  course  of  the  revised  Bible 
Jor  the  Beople^  that  grand  enterprise  of  which  three 
parts  have  now  appeared.  So  far  as  it  has  gone, 
some  amended  renderings  have  interest,  but  are 
less  important  than  the  survey  of  the  whole  sub- 
ject in  the  Introduction.  The  word  Jehovah  has 
its  deep  significance  brought  out  by  being  rendered 
The  Eternal.  The  famous  Sliiloh  (Gen.  xlix.  lo)  is 
taken  in  its  localsense,as  the  sanctuar}^  where  the  young- 
Samuel  was  trained ;  which,  if  doctrinal  perversions 
did  not  interfere,  hardly  any  one  would  doubt  to  be 
the  true  sense.     The  three  opening  verses  of  Genesis 


'  Bihel-tcerkfilr  die  Gemeinde.     I.  and  II.     Leipzig.     1858. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Besearclies.  63 

are  treated  as  szVe-clauses  {icken  Grod  created,  &c.),  so 
that  the  first  direct  utterance  of  the  Bible  is  in  the 
fourth  verse, '  God  said,  Let  there  be  light.'  Striking 
as  this  is,  the  Hebrew  permits,  rather  than  requires  it. 
Less  admissible  is  the  division  after  verse  4  of  the  2nd 
chapter,  as  if  '  This  is  the  history'  was  a  summary 
of  what  precedes,  instead  of  an  announcement  of  what 
follows.  But  the  first  three  verses  of  the  2nd  chapter 
belong  properly  to  the  preceding.  Sometimes  the 
translator  seems  right  in  substance  but  wrong  in 
detail.  He  rightly  rejects  the  perversions  which  make 
the  cursing  Psalms  evangelically  inspired ;  but  he 
forgets  that  the  bitterest  curses  of  Psalm  109  (from 
verse  6  to  19)  are  not  the  Psalmist's  own,  but  a  speech 
in  the  mouth  of  his  adversary,  as  the  change  of 
number  shows.  These  are  trifles,  when  compared 
with  the  mass  of  information,  and  the  manner  of 
wielding  it,  in  the  prefaces  to  the  work.  There  is  a 
grasp  of  materials  and  a  breadth  of  view  from  which 
the  most  practised  theologian  may  learn  something, 
and  persons  least  versed  in  Biblical  studies  acquire  a 
comprehensive  idea  of  them.  Nothing  can  be  more 
dishonest  than  the  affectation  of  contempt  with 
which  some  English  critics  endeavoured  to  receive 
this  instalment  of  a  glorious  work.  To  sneer  at 
demonstrated  criticisms  as  '  old,'  and  to  brand  fresh 
discoveries  as  '  new,'  is  worthy  of  men  who  neither 
understand  the  Old  Testament  nor  love  the  New. 
They  to  whom  the  Bible  is  dear  for  the  truth's 
sake  will  wish  its  illustrious  translator  life  to  accom- 
plish a  task  as  worthy  of  a  Christian  statesman's 
retirement  as  the  Tusculans  of  Cicero  were  of  the 
representative  of  Rome's  lost  freedom ~ 

Already  in  the  volume  before-mentioned  Baron  Bun- 
sen  has  exhibited  the  Hebrew  Prophets  as  witnesses  to 
the  Divine  Government.  To  estimate  aright  his  services 
in  this  province  would  require  from  most  Englishmen 
years  of  study.     Accustomed  to  be  told  that  modern 


64  Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

history  is  expressed  by  the  Prophets  in  a  riddle, 
which  requires  only  a  key  to  it,  they  are  disappointed 
to  hear  of  moral  lessons,  however  important.  Such 
notions  are  the  inheritance  of  days  when  Justin  could 
argue,  in  good  faith,  that  by  the  riches  of  Damascus 
and  the  spoil  of  Samaria  were  intended  the  Magi  and 
their  gifts,  and  that  the  King  of  Assyria  signified 
King  Herod  (!) ;'  or  when  Jerome  could  say,  'No  one 
doubts  iliat  by  Chaldeans  are  meant  Demons,"'''  and  the 
Shunammite  Abishag  could  be  no  other  than  heavenly 
wisdom,  for  the  honour  of  David's  old  age'' — not  to 
mention  such  things  as  Lot's  daughters  symbolizing 
the  Jewish  and  Gentile  Churches.'*  It  was  truly  felt 
by  the  early  fathers  that  Hebrew  prophecy  tended  to 
a  system  more  spiritual  than  that  of  Levi ;  and  they 
argued  unanswerably  that  circumcision  and  the  Sab- 
bath^ were  symbols  for  a  time,  or  means  to  ends. 
But  when,  instead  of  using  the  letter  as  an  instru- 
ment of  the  spirit,  they  began  to  accept  the  letter  in 
all  its  parts  as  their  law,  and  twisted  it  into  harmony 
with  the  details  of  Gospel  history,  they  fell  into  in- 


^  Isaiah  viii.  4.  Trypho  §  77,  8,  9.  Well  might  Trypho  answer,  that 
such  interpretations  are  strained,  it'  not  blasphemous. 

-  On  Isaiah  xliii.  14,  15,  and  again,  on  ch.  xlviii.  i2-t6.  He  also  shows 
on  xlviii.  22,  that  the  Jews  of  that  day  had  not  lost  the  historical  sense  of 
their  prophecies ;  though  mystical  renderings  had  already  shown  them- 
selves. But  the  later  mysticists  charitably  prayed  I'or  Hillel,  because  his 
expositions  had  been  historical.  (See  Pearson's  Notes  on  Art.  iii.)  When 
will  our  mysticists  show  as  Christian  a  temper  as  the  Jewish  ones  ? 
Condonct  Uomii/us  lioc  H.  Ilillel ! 

^  To  Nepotian.     Letter  52. 

*  Presbyter!  apud  Irenaeum. 

'  Trypho  §  41-43.  This  tract  of  Justin's  shows  strikingly  a  transition 
from  the  utmost  evangelical  freedom,  with  simplicity  of  thought,  to  a  more 
learned,  but  confused  speculation  and  literalism.  He  still  thinks  reason  a 
revelation,  Socrates  a  Christian,  pi-ophecy  a  necessary  and  perpetual  gift  of 
God's  people,  circumcision  temporary,  because  not  natural;  and  lustral 
washings,  which  he  contrasts  with  mental  baptism,  superstitious.  His 
view  of  the  Sabbath  is  quite  St.  Paul's.  His  making  a  millennial  resur- 
rection the  Christian  doctrine,  as  opposed  to  the  neathen  immortality  of 
the  soul,  is  embarrassing,  but  perhaps  primitive.  But  his  Scriptural  inter- 
pretations are  dreams,  and  his  charge  agaiust  the  Jews  of  corrupting  the 
Prophets  as  suicidal  as  it  is  groundless. 


BunserCs  Biblical  Researches,  65 

extrlcable  contradictions ;  tlie  most  rational  interpre- 
ter among  them  is  Jerome,  and  the  perusal  of  his 
criticisms  is  their  ample  confutation.^  Nor  could  the 
strong  intellect  of  Augustine  compensate  for  his  de- 
fect of  little  Greek,  which  he  shared  with  half,  and 
of  less  Hebrew,  which  he  shared  with  most  of  the 
Fatliers.  But  with  the  revival  of  learning  began  a 
reluctant  and  wavering,  yet  inevitable,  retreat  from 
the  details  of  patristic  exposition,  accompanied  with 
some  attempts  to  preserve  its  spirit.  Even  Erasmus 
looked  that  way ;  Luther's  and  Calvin's  strong  sense 
impelled  them  some  strides  in  the  same  direction ; 
but  Grotius,  who  outweighs  as  a  critic  any  ten  oppo- 
sites,  went  boldly  on  the  road.  In  our  own  country 
each  successive  defence  of  the  prophecies,  in  propor- 
tion as  its  author  was  able,  detracted  something  from 
tlie  extent  of  literal  prognostication  ;  and  either  laid 
stress  on  the  moral  element,  or  urged  a  second,  as  the 
spiritual  sense.  Even  Butler  foresaw  the  possibility, 
that  every  prophecy  in  the  Old  Testament  might 
have  its  elucidation  in  contemporaneous  history ;  but 
literature  was  not  his  strong  point,  and  he  turned 
aside,  endeavouring  to  limit  it,  from  an  unwelcome 
idea.  Bishop  Chandler  is  said  to  have  thought  twelve 
passages  in  the  Old  Testament  directly  Messianic ; 
others  restricted  this  character  to  five.  Paley  ven- 
tures to  quote  only  one.  Bishop  Kidder  conceded 
freely  an  historical  sense  in  Old  Testament  texts  re- 
mote from  adaptations  in  the  New.  The  apostolic 
Middleton  pronounced  firmly  for  the  same  principle ; 
Archbishop  Newcome'^  and   others  proved  in    detail 


^  Thus  he  makes  Isaac's  hundredfold  increase,  Gen.  xxvi.  12,  mean 
'  multiplication  ol'  virtues,'  because  no  grain  is  specified  !  Queesf.  Sebraic. 
in  Gen.  ch.  xxvi.  When  Jerome  Origenises,  he  is  worse  than  Oriji,-en, 
because  he  does  not,  like  that  great  genius,  distinguish  the  historical  from 
the  mystical  sense. 

■'  Collected  in  the  Boyle  Lectures. 

2  A  Literal  Translation  of  the  Prophets,  from  Isaiah  to  Malachi,  with 

r 


66  Bunsens  Biblical  Researches. 

its  necessity.  Coleridge,  in  a  suggestive  letter,  pre- 
served in  the  memoirs  of  Gary,  the  translator  of 
Dante,  threw  secular  prognostication  altogether  out 
of  the  idea  of  prophecy.^  Dr.  Arnold,  and  his  truest 
followers,  bear,  not  always  consistently,  on  the  same 
side.  On  the  other  hand,  the  declamatory  assertions, 
so  easy  in  pulpits  or  on  platforms,  and  aided  some- 
times by  powers,  which  produce  silence  rather  than 
conviction,  have  not  only  kept  alive  but  magnified 
mth  uncritical  exaggeration,  whatever  the  Fathers 
had  dreamt  or  modern  rhetoric  could  add,  tending  to 
make  prophecy  miraculous.  Keith's  edition  of  New- 
ton need  not  be  here  discussed.  Davison,  of  Oriel,  with 
admirable  skill,  threw  his  argument  into  a  series  as 
it  were  of  hypothetical  syllogisms,  with  only  the  defect 
(which  some  readers  overlook)  that  his  minor  premise 
can  hardly  in  a  single  instance  be  proved.  Yet  the 
stress  which  he  lays  on  the  moral  element  of  prophecy 
atones  for  his  sophistry  as  regards  the  predictive. 
On  the  whole,  even  in  England,  there  is  a  wide  gulf 
between  the  arguments  of  our  genuine  critics,  with 
the  convictions  of  our  most  learned  clergy,  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  assumptions  of  popular  declamation 
on  the  other.  This  may  be  seen  on  a  comparison 
of  Kidder  with  Keitli.^     But  in  Germany  there  has 


Notes,  bj'  Lowth,  Blayney,  Newcome,  Wiutle,  Horsley,  &c.  London. 
1836.  A  book  unequal,  but  useful  for  want  of  a  better,  and  of  wbich  a 
revision,  if  not  an  entire  recast,  witli  the  aid  of  recent  expositors,  might 
employ  our  Biblical  scholars. 

1  '  Of  prophecies  in  the  sense  of //rojnosfiVai'/ow  I  utterlj' deny  that  there 
is  any  instance  delivered  by  one  of  the  illustrious  Diadoche,  whom  the 
Jewish  church  comprised  in  the  name  Projjhets — and  I  shall  regard  Ci/rus 
as  an  exception,  when  I  believe  the  137th  Psalm  to  have  been  composed  by 
David 

'Nay,  I  will  go  farther,  and  assert  that  the  contrary  belief,  the  hypothesis 
of  prognostication,  is  in  irreconcileable  oppugnancy  to  our  Lord's  d(;clara- 
tion,  that  the  times  hath  the  Father  reserved  to  Himself.' — Menioh'  of 
Canj,  vol.  ii.  p.  180. 

-  Amongst  recent  authors.  Dr.  Palfrey,  an  American  scholar,  has 
expounded  in  live  learned  volumes  the  diiHculties  in  current  traditions  about 
prophecy;  but  instead  of  remedying  these  by  restricting  ihe  idea  of  revela- 


Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches.  67 

been,  a  patliway  streaming  with  light,  from  Eichhorn 
to  Ewalcl,  aided  by  tlie  poetical  penetration  of  Herder 
and  the  philological  researches  of  Gesenius,  through- 
out which  the  value  of  the  moral  element  in  prophecy 
has  been  progressively  raised,  and  that  of  the  directly 
predictive,  whether  secular  or  Messianic,  has  been 
lowered.  Even  the  conservatism  of  Jahn  amongst 
Romanists,  and  of  Hengstenberg  amongst  Protestants, 
is  free  and  rational,  compared  to  what  is  often  in  this 
country  required  with  denunciation,  but  seldom  de- 
fended by  argument. 

To  this  inheritance  of  opinion  Baron  Bunsen  suc- 
ceeds. Knowing  these  things,  and  writing  for  men 
who  know  them,  he  has  neither  the   advanta^-e  in 


tlon  to  Moses  and  the  Gospels,  he  would  have  done  better  to  seek  a  defini- 
tion of  revelation  which  should  apply  to  the  Psalms,  and  Prophets,  and 
Epistles. 

Mr.  Francis  Newman,  in  his  ffehrew  Mojiarchy,  is  historically  consistent 
in  his  expositions,  which  have  not  been  controverted  by  any  serious  argu- 
ment ;  but  his  mind  seems  to  fail  in  the  Ideal  element ;  else  he  would  see, 
that  the  typical  ideas  (of  patience  or  of  glory)  in  the  Old  Testament,  find 
their  culminating  fulfihiient  in  the  New. 

Mr.  Mansel's  Hampton  Lectures  must  make  even  those  who  value  his 
argument,  regret  that  to  his  acknowledged  dialectical  ability  he  has  not 
added  the  rudiments  of  Biblical  criticism.  In  all  his  volume  not  one  text 
of  Scripture  is  elucidated,  nor  a  single  difiiculty  in  the  evidences  of  Christi- 
anity removed.  Recognised  mistranslations,  and  misreadings,  are  alleged 
as  arguments,  and  passages  from  the  Old  Testament  are  employed  without 
reference  to  the  illustration,  or  inversion,  which  they  have  received  in  the 
New.  Hence,  as  the  eristic  arts  of  logic  without  knowledge  of  the  subject- 
matter  become  powerless,  the  author  is  a  mere  gladiator  hitting  in  the 
dark,  and  his  blows  fall  heaviest  on  what  it  was  his  duty  to  defend.  As  to 
his  main  argument  (surely  a  strange  parody  of  Butler),  the  sentence  from 
Sir  W.  Hamilton  prefixed  to  his  volume,  seems  to  me  its  gem,  and  its 
confutation.  Of  the  reasonincj,  which  would  bias  our  interpretation  of 
Isaiah,  by  telling  us  Feuerbach  was  an  atheist,  I  need  not  say  a  word. 

We  are  promised  from  Oxford  farther  elucidations  of  the  Minor  Prophets 
by  the  Regius  Professor  of  Hebrew,  whose  book  seems  launched  sufficiently 
to  catch  the  gales  of  friendship,  without  yet  tempting  out  of  harbour 
the  blasts  of  criticism.  Let  us  hope  when  the  work  appears,  its  interpre- 
tations may  dilfer  from  those  of  a  Catena  Aurea,  published  under  high 
auspices  in  the  same  university,  in  which  the  narrative  of  Uriah  is  improved 
by  making  David  represent  Christ,  and  Uriah  the  devil ;  so  that  the  crime 
which  'displeased  the  Lord,'  becomes  a  prophecy  of  Him  who  was  harmless 
and  undefiled!     This  co.nes  from  Anselra  on  St.  Matthew,  ch.  i. 

F    2 


ob  Bunsens  Biblical  ResearcJies. 

argument  of  -unique  knowledge,  nor  of  unique  igno- 
rance. He  dare  not  say,  though  it  was  formerly  said, 
that  David  foretold  the  exile,  because  it  is  mentioned 
in  the  Psalms.  He  cannot  quote  Nahum  denouncing 
ruin  against  Nineveh,  or  Jeremiah  against  Tyre, 
without  remembering  that  already  the  Babylonian 
power  threw  its  shadow  across  Asia,  and  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  mustering  his  armies.  If  he  would 
quote  the  book  of  Isaiah,  he  cannot  conceal,  after 
Gesenius,  Ewald,  and  Maurer  have  written,  that  the 
book  is  composed  of  elements  of  different  eras.  Find- 
ing Perso-Babylonian,  or  new-coined  words,  such  as 
sagans  for  officers,  and  Chaldaic  forms  of  the  Hebrew 
verb,  such  as  Aphel  for  Hiphil,  in  certain  portions,  and 
observing  that  the  political  horizon  of  these  portions 
is  that  of  the  sixth  century,  while  that  of  the  elder  or 
more  purely  Hebraic  portions  belonged  tothe  eighth,  he 
must  accept  a  theory  of  authorship  and  of  prediction, 
modified  accordingly.  So,  if  under  the  head  of 
Zechariah  he  finds  three  distinct  styles  and  aspects  of 
affairs,  he  must  acknowled^'e  so  much,  whether  he  is 
right  or  wrong  in  conjecturing  the  elder  Zechariah  of 
the  age  of  Isaiah  to  have  written  the  second  portion, 
and  Uriah  in  Jeremiah's  ag-e  the  third.  If  he  would 
quote  Micah,  as  designating  Bethlehem  for  the  birth- 
place of  the  Messiah,  he  cannot  shut  his  eyes  to  the 
fact  that  the  Deliverer  to  come  from  thence  was  to  be  a 
contemporary  shield  against  the  Assyrian.  If  he  would 
follow  our  version  in  rendering  the  second  Psalm,  Kiss 
the  son ;  he  knows  that  Hebrew  idiom  convinced  even 
Jerome^  the  true  meaning  was,  ivorsMp  purely.  He 
may  read  in  Psalm  xxxiv.  that,  *  not  a  bone  of  the 
righteous  shall  be  broken,'  but  he  must  feel  a  diffi- 
culty in   detaching  this   from   the   context,  so  as  to 


^  Cavillatur  ....  quod  posuerim,  ....  Adorafe  pure 
,  .  .  .  ne  violentus  viderer  interpres,  et  Jud.  locum  dareni. — Ilieron. 
f.  Muffin.  §  19. 


Bansens  Biblical  Researches.  69 

make  it  a  prophecy  of  the  crucifixion.  If  he  ac- 
cepts mere  versions  of  Psalm  xxii.  17,  he  mav 
wonder  how  '  piercing  the  hands  and  the  feet'  can  fit 
into  the  whole  passa^^e  ;  but  if  he  prefers  the  most 
ancient  Hebrew  reading,  he  finds,  instead  oV  piercin//' 
the  comparison  '  like  a  lion,'  and  this  corresponds  suffi- 
ciently with  the  '  dogs'  of  the  first  clause  ;  though  a 
morally  certain  emendation  would  make  the  parallel 
more  perfect  by  reading  the  word  'lions'  in  both 
clauses.^  In  either  case,  the  staring  monsters  are  in- 
tended, by  whom  Israelis  surrounded  and  torn.  Again 
he  finds  in  Hosea  that  the  Lord  loved  Israel  when 
he  was  young,  and  called  him  out  of  Egypt  to  be  his 
son ;  but  he  must  feel,  with  Bishop  Kidder,  that  such 
a  citation  is  rather  accommodated  to  the  fliirht  of 
Joseph  into  Egypt,  than  a  prediction  to  be  a  ground 
of  argument.  Fresh  from  the  services  of  Christmas, 
he  may  sincerely  exclaim.  Unto  us  a  child  is  born ;  but 
he  knows  that  the  Hebrew  translated  Mighiy  God,  is 
at  least  disputable,  that  perhaps  it  means  only  Strong 
and  Mighty  One,  Fatlier  of  an  Age  ;  and  he  can  never 
listen  to  any  one  who  pretends  that  the  Maiden's 
Child  of  Isaiah  vii.  16,  was  not  to  be  born  in  the 
reign  of  Ahaz,  as  a  sign  against  the  Kings  Pekah 
and  Pezin.  In  the  case  of  Daniel,  he  may  doubt 
whether  all  parts  of  the  book  are  of  one  age,  or  what 
is  the  starting  point  of  the  seventy  weeks ;  but  two 
results  are  clear  beyond  fair  doubt,  that  the  period  of 
weeks  ended  in  the  reign  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and 
that  those  portions  of  the  book,  supposed  to  be 
specially  predictive,  are  a  history  of  past  occurrences 
up  to  that  reign.  When  so  vast  an  induction  on  the 
destructive  side  has  been  gone  through,  it  avails  little 
that  some  passages  may  be  doubtful,  one  perhaps  in 
Zechariah,  and  one  in  Isaiah,  capable  of  being  made 


'  By  reading  D''N^^7D  for  D^^/D-     The  Septuagint  version  may  have 
ariseu  Irom  ^JISpH,  taken  as  iroui  Pjp^. 


70  Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

directly  Messianic,  and  a  chapter  possibly  in  Deutero- 
nomy foreshadowing  the  final  fiill  of  Jerusalem.  Even 
these  few  cases,  the  remnant  of  so  much  confident 
rhetoric,  tend  to  melt,  if  they  are  not  ah'eady  melted, 
in  the  crucible  of  searching  inquiry.  If  our  German 
had  ignored  all  that  the  masters  of  philology  have 
proved  on  these  subjects,  his  countrymen  would  have 
raised  a  storm  of  ridicule,  at  which  he  must  have 
drowned  himself  in  the  Neckar. 

Great  then  is  Baron  Bunsen's  merit,  in  accepting 
frankly  the  belief  of  scholars,  and  yet  not  despairing 
of  Hebrew  Prophecy  as  a  witness  to  the  kingdom  of 
God.  The  way  of  doing  so  left  open  to  hini,  was  to 
show,  pervading  the  Prophets,  tliose  deep  truths 
which  lie  at  the  heart  of  Christianity,  and  to  trace 
the  growth  of  such  ideas,  the  belief  in  a  righteous 
God,  and  the  nearness  of  man  to  God,  the  power  of 
prayer,  and  the  victory  of  self-sacrificing  patience, 
ever  expanding  in  men's  hearts,  until  the  fuhiess  of 
time  came,  and  the  ideal  of  the  Divine  thought  was 
fulfilled  in  the  Son  of  Man.  Such  accordingly  is  the 
course  our  author  pursues,  not  with  the  critical  finish 
of  Ewald,  but  with  large  moral  grasp.  Why  he 
should  add  to  his  moral  and  metaphysical  basis  of 
propliecy,  a  notion  of  foresight  by  vision  of  particuhirs, 
or  a  kind  of  clairvoyance,  though  he  admits  it  to  be^  a 
natural  gift,  consistent  with  fallibility,  is  not  so  easy 
to  explain.  One  would  wish  he  might  have  intended 
only  the  power  of  seeing  the  ideal  in  the  actual,  or  of 
tracing  the  Divine  Government  in  the  movements  of 
men.     He  seems  to  mean  more  than  presentiment  or 


'  '  Die  Kraft  des  Schauens,  die  ini  Menschen  verborgen  liegt,  und,  von 
der  Niiturnotliwendigkeit  befieit,  iin  liebraischen  Prophetenthum  .sicli  zur 
wahren  Weltanschauung  erhoben  hat  ....  ist  der  Schliissel,'  ttc, 
Gott  in  der  Geschichte,  p.  149. 

*  Jene  Herrlicblieit  besteht  nicht  in  dem  Vorhersagen  .  .  .  Dieses 
haben  sie  gemein  mit  manclien  Ausspriichen  der  Pythia,  ....  und 
mit  vielen  Weissagungen  der  Hellselierinnen  dieses  Jarhunderts  "... 
id.  p.  151. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  71 

sagacity;  and  tliis    element    in  liis   system   requires 
proof. 

The  most  brilliant  portion  of  tlie  prophetical  essays 
is  the  treatment  of  the  later  Isaiah.  With  the  inser- 
tion of  four  chapters  concerning  Hezekiah  from  the 
histories  of  the  kings,  the  words  and  deeds  of  the 
elder  Isaiah  apparently  close.  It  does  not  follow  that 
all  the  prophecies  arranged  earlier  in  the  book  are  from 
his  lips  ;  probably  they  are  not ;  but  it  is  clear  to 
demonstration/  that  the  later  chapters  (xL,  &c.,)  are 
upon  the  stooping  of  Nebo,  and  the  bowing  down  of 
Babylon,  when  the  Lord  took  out  of  the  hand  of 
Jerusalem  the  cup  of  trembhng ;  for  tlie  glad  tidings 
of  the  decree  of  return  were  heard  upon  the  mountains; 
and  the  people  went  forth,  not  with  haste,  or  flight, 
for  their  God  went  before  tliem,  and  was  their  rereward 
(ch.  lii.)  So  they  went  forth  with  joy,  and  were  led 
forth  with  peace  (ch.  liv.).  So  the  arm  of  the  Lord  was 
laid  bare,  and  his  servant  who  had  foretold  it  was 
now  counted  wise,  though  none  had  believed  his  report. 
We  cannot  take  a  portion  out  of  this  continuous  song, 
and  by  dividing  it  as  a  chapter,  separate  its  primarj^ 
meaning  from  what  precedes  and  follows.  The  servant 
in  chapters  lii.  and  liii.  must  have  relation  to  the  servant 
in  chapters  xlii.and  xlix.  Who  was  this  servant,  that  had 
foretold  the  exile  and  the  return,  and  had  been  a  man  of 
grief,  rejected  of  his  people,  imprisoned  and  treated  as 
a  malefactor?  The  oldest  Jewish  tradition,  preserved 
in  Origen,^  and  to  be  inferred  from  Justin,^  said  the 
chosen  people — in  opposition  to  heathen  oppressors — 
an  opinion  which  suits  ch.  xlix.  ver.  3.    Nor  is  the^  later 


'  To  prove  this,  let  any  one  read  Jerome's  arguments  against  it;  if  the 
sacred  text  itself  be  not  sufficient  proof.  '  Go  ye  forth  of  JBahi/Ion,'  &c., 
ch.  xlviii.  20. 

2  C.  Celsum,  i.  55.     (Quoted  by  Pearson.) 

^  For,  in  making  the  Gentiles  mean  Proselijies,  they  must  have  made 
the  servant  Israel.  dXXa  ri;  ovTrpbsT6vv6ij.ov\fyet,,KaiTovs<po}TL^oiJievovs 
vn' avTov,  K.T.X. — Trypho,  §  T22. 

*  Later,  because  it  implies  the  fall  of  Jerusalem.     It  is  thought  to  have. 


72  Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

exposition  of  the  Targum  altogether  at  variance  ;  for 
though  Jonathan  speaks  of  the  Messiah,  it  is  in  the 
character  of  a  Judaic  deliverer :  and  his  expressions 
about  '  the  holy  people  s  being  multiplied,'  and  seeing 
their  sanctuary  rebuilt,  especially  when  he  calls  the 
holy  people  a  remnant,^  may  be  fragments  of  a  tradi- 
tion older  than  his  time.  It  is  idle,  with  Pearson,^ 
to  quote  Jonathan  as  a  witness  to  the  Christian  inter- 
pretation, unless  his  conception  of  the  Messiah  were 
ours.  But  the  idea  of  the  Anointed  One,  which  in 
some  of  the  Psalms  belongs  to  Israel,  shifted  from 
time  to  time,  being  applied  now  to  people,  and  now 
to  king  or  prophet,  until  at  length  it  assumed  a 
sterner  form,  as  the  Jewish  spirit  was  hardened  by 
persecutions  into  a  more  vindicative  hope.  The  first 
Jewish  expositor  who  loosened,  without  breaking 
Eabbinical  fetters,  P.  Saadiah,^  in  the  9th  century, 
named  Jeremiah  as  the  man  of  grief,  and  emphatically 
the  prophet  of  the  return,  rejected  of  his  people. 
Grotius,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  divined  the  same 
clue ;  though  Michaelis  says  upon  it,  pessime  Grotius. 
Baron  Bunsen  puts  together,  with  masterly  analysis, 
the  illustrative  passages  of  Jeremiah ;  and  it  is 
difficult  to  resist  the  conclusion  to  which  they  tend. 
Jeremiah  compares  his  whole  peojDle  to  sheep  going 
astray,'^  and  himself  to  '  a  lamb  or  an  ox,  brought  to 
the    slaughter.'^     He    was    taken   from  prison  ;*"  and 


been  compiled  in  the  fourth  century  of  our  era.  It  is  very  doubtful, 
whether  the  Jewish  schools  of  the  middle  ayes  had  (except  in  fragments) 
any  Hermeneutic  tradition  so  old  as  what  we  gather  liom  the  Church  lathers, 
however  unfairly  this  may  be  reported.  My  own  belief  is  clear  that  they 
had  not. 

^  '^^'Vjp  nib^n  X\yD\  and  Kli^ti^  rr^  rS'^yil.-Targum  on 
Isaiah  liii. 

"  In  Pearson's  hands,  even  the  Rabbins  become  more  Rabbinical.  His 
citations  from  Jonathan  and  from  Jarchi  are  most  untair;  and  in  general 
he  makes  their  prose  more  prosaic. 

^  TiLularly  styled  Gaon,  as  president  of  the  Sora  school. 

■•  Jer.  xxiii.  i,  2 ;  1.  6-17;  xii.  3. 

*  Jer.  xi.  19. 

*  Jer,  xxxviii.  4-6,  13;  xxxvii.  16. 


Biinsens  Biblical  Researches.  73 

his  generation,  or  posterity,  none  took  account  of  ;^ 
he  interceded  for  his  people  in  prayer:^  but  was  not 
the  less  despised,  and  a  man  of  grief,  so  that  no 
sorrow  was  like  his  f  men  assigned  his  grave  witli 
the  wicked,*  and  his  tomb  with  the  oppressors  ;  all 
who  followed  him  seemed  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the 
living,^  yet  his  seed  prolonged  their  days  ;^  his  pro- 
phecy was  fulfilled,'^  and  the  arm  of  the  Eternal  laid 
bare ;  he  was  counted  wise  on  the  return ;  his  place 
in  the  book  of  Sirach^  shows  how  eminently  he  was 
enshrined  in  men's  thoughts  as  the  servant  of  God  ; 
and  in  the  book  of  Maccabees^  he  is  the  gray  prophet, 
who  is  seen  in  vision,  fulfilling  his  task  of  interceding 
for  the  people. 

This  is  an  imperfect  sketch,  but  may  lead  readers  to 
consider  the  arguments  for  applying  Isaiah  Hi.  and  liii. 
to  Jeremiah.  Their  weight  (in  the  master's  hand)  is 
so  great,  that  if  any  single  person  should  be  selected, 
they  prove  Jeremiah  should  be  the  one.  Nor  are  they 
a  slight  illustration  of  the  historical  sense  of  that 
famous  chapter,  which  in  tlie  original  is  a  history.^'' 
Still  the  general  analogy  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
makes  collective  Israel,  or  the  prophetic  remnant, 
especially  the  servant  of  Jehovah,  and  the  comparison 
of  ch.  xlii.,  xlix.  may  permit  us  to  think  the  oldest  inter- 
pretation the  truest ;  with  only  this  admission,  that 


^  Jer.  xi.  19-23;  XX.  lO;  xxxvi.  19;  xlv.  2,  3. 

^  Jer.  xviii   20;  xiv.  11 ;  xv.  i. 

^  Jer.  xviii.   18  ;  xx.  9-17  ;  Lam.  iii.  1-13. 

^  Lara.  iii.  52-54;  Jer.  xxvi.  11-15,  23  ;  xliv.  15,  16;  i.  iS,  19. 

*  Jer.  xlv.  1-3;  xi.  19;  xli.  2,  3:  with  xli.  9,  10 ;  xlii.  i,  2,  10. 

"  Psalms  cxx.  cxxii.  cxxvi.  cxxix.  &c. ;  Isaiah  xliii.  1-5,  10-14. 

^  Lam.  i.  17;  Jer.  xvi.  15;  xxx.  1-3,  10,  18;  xxxi.  6-12;  Isaiah  xliv. 
7,  8 ;  xlvi.  1-9,10 ;  1.  5,  6  ;   Iii.  IO-13. 

**  Eccles.  xlix.  6,  7,  and  Jer.  i. 

^  2  Mace.  XV.  13,  14. 

'"  The  tenses  from  verse  2  onward  are  rather  historical  than  predictive; 
and  in  ver.  8,  for  he  was  stricken,  the  Hebrew  is,  ^iu}  i?Jj,  the  stroke 
was  upon  them;  i.e.  on  the  generation  of  the  faithful,  which  was  cut  oii"; 
when  the  blood  of  the  Pi'ophets  was  shed  on  every  side  of  Jerusalem. 


74  Hunsens  Biblical  BesearcJtcs. 

tlie  figure  of  Jeremiali  stood  forth  amongst  the  Pro- 
phets, and  tinged  the  dehneation  of  the  true  Israel, 
that  is,  the  faitJifid  remnant  who  had  heen  disbelieved 
— -just  as  the  figure  of  Laud  or  Hammond  might 
represent  the  Caroline  Church  in  the  eyes  of  her  poet. 

If  this  seems  but  a  compromise,  it  may  be  justi- 
fied by  Ewald's  phrase,  '  Die  ivenigen  Treuen  im  Exile, 
Jeremjah  tind  Aadre^^  though  he  makes  the  servant 
idealized  Israel. 

If  any  sincere  Christian  now  asks,  is  not  then  our 
Saviour  spoken  of  in  Isaiah ;  let  him  open  his  New 
Testament,  and  ask  therewith  John  the  Baptist, 
whether  he  was  Elias?  If  he  finds  the  Baptist 
answering  /  am  not,  yet  our  Lord  testifies  that  in 
spirit  and  power  this  was  Elias ;  a  little  reflexion  will 
show  how  the  historical  representation  in  Isaiah  liii.  is 
of  some  suffering  prophet  or  remnant,  yet  the  truth 
and  patience,  the  griefand  triumph,  have  their  highest 
fulfilment  in  Him  who  said,  '  Father,  not  ni}'^  will, 
but  thine.'  But  we  must  not  distort  the  prophets, 
to  prove  the  Divine  worb  incarnate,  and  then  from 
the  incarnation  reason  back  to  the  sense  of  prophecy. 

Loudly  as  justice  and  humanity  exclaim  against 
such  traditional  distortion  of  prophecy  as  makes  their 
own  sacred  writings  a  ground  of  cruel  prejudice  against 
the  Hebrew  people,  and  the  fidelity  of  this  remarkable 
race  to  the  oracles  of  their  fathers  a  handle  for  social 
obloquy,  the  cause  of  Christianity  itself  would  be  the 
greatest  gainer,  if  we  laid  aside  weapons,  the  use  of 
which  brings  shame.  Israel  would  be  acknowledged, 
as  in  some  sense  still  a  Messiah,  having  borne  centuries 
of  reproach  through  the  sin  of  the  nations ;  but  the 
Saviour  who  fulfilled  in  his  own  person  the  highest 
aspiration  of  Hebrew  seers  and  of  mankind,  thereby 
lifting  the  ancient  words,  so  to  speak,  into  a  new  and 


*  Die  Pi'opheten,  d.  A.B.  2ter  Band,  pp.  438-453. 


Bunseris  Biblical  Researches.  75 

higher  power,  would  be  recognised  as  having  eminently 
the  unction  of  a  prophet  whose  words  die  not,  of  a 
priest  in  a  temple  not  made  with  hands,  and  of  a  king 
in  the  realm  of  thought,  delivering  his  people  from  a 
bondage  of  moral  evil,  worse  than  Egypt  or  Babylon. 
If  already  the  vast  majority  of  the  prophecies  are 
acknowledged  by  our  best  authorities  to  require  some 
such  rendering,  in  order  to  Christianize  them,  and  if 
this  acknowledgment  has  become  uniformly  stronger 
in  proportion  as  learning  was  unfettered,  the  force  of 
analogy  leads  us  to  anticipate  that  our  Isaiah  too  must 
require  a  similar  interpretation.  No  new  principle  is 
thrust  upon  the  Christian  world,  by  our  historical 
understanding  of  this  famous  chapter;  but  a  case 
which  had  been  thought  exceptional,  is  shown  to 
harmonize  with  a  general  principle. 

Wliether  the  great  prophet,  whose  triumphant 
thanksgiving  on  the  return  from  Babylon  forms  the 
later  chapters  of  our  Isaiah,  is  to  remain  without  a 
name,  or  whether  Baron  Bunsen  has  succeeded  in 
identifying  him  with  Baruch,  the  disciple,  scribe,  and 
perhaps  biographer  or  editor  of  Jeremiah,  is  a  question 
of  probability.  Most  readers  of  the  argument  for  the 
identity  will  feel  inclined  to  assent ;  but  a  doubt  may 
occur,  whether  many  an  unnamed  disciple  of  the  pro- 
phetic school  may  not  have  burnt  with  kindred  zeal,  and 
used  diction  not  peculiar  to  any  one ;  while  such  a 
doubt  may  be  strengthened  by  the  confidence  with 
which  our  critic  ascribes  a  recasting  of  Job,  and 
of  parts  of  other  books,  to  the  same  favourite  Baruch. 
Yet,  if  kept  within  the  region  of  critical  conjecture, 
his  reasons  are  something  more  than  ingenious.  It 
may  weigh  with  some  Anglicans,  that  a  letter  ascribed 
to  St.  Athanasius  mentions  Baruch  among  the  ca- 
nonical prophets.^ 


lepefxias,  ku\  aiiv  avTm  Bapovx,  ^p^jfOh  'ETrtcrroX^  Kcii  fxer'  avrov  'if^e/ct^X, 
K.T.X. — JS^.  Fest. 


76  Hunseii's  Biblical  Researches. 

In  clistinguisliing  the  man  Daniel  from  our  book  of 
Daniel,  and  in  bringing  the  latter  as  low  as  the  reign 
of  Epiphanes,  our  author  only  follows  the  admitted 
necessities  of  the  case.^  Not  only  Macedonian  words, 
such  as  sijwjjlionia'^-  and  psanierion,  but  the  texture  of 
the  Chaldaic,  with  such  late  forms  as  T^?  'P-  ^i^cl 
\f)^  the  pronominal  Q  and  r?  having  passed  into 
1'  and  not  only  minute  description  of  Antiochus's 
reign,  but  the  stoppage  of  such  description  at  the 
precise  date  169  b.c,  remove  all  philological  and  critical 
doubt  as  to  the  age  of  the  book.  But  what  seenis 
peculiar  to  Baron  Bunsen,  is  the  interpretation  of  the 
four  empires'  sj^mbols  with  reference  to  the  original 
Daniel's  abode  in  Nineveh  ;  so  that  the  winged  lion 
traditionally  meant  the  Assyrian  empire ;  the  bear  was 
the  Babylonian  symbol;  the  leopard  that  of  the  Medes 
and  Persians  ;  while  the  fourth  beast  represented,  as 
is  not  uncommonly  held,  the  sway  of  Alexander.  A 
like  reference  is  traced  in  the  mention  of  Hiddekel,  or 
the  Tigris,  in  ch.  x. ;  for,  if  the  scene  had  been 
Babylon  under  Darius,  the  river  must  have  been  the 
Euphrates.  The  truth  seems,  that  starting  like  many 
a  patriot  bard  of  our  own,  from  a  name  traditionally 
sacred,  the  writer  used  it  with  no  deceptive  intention, 
as  a  dramatic  form  which  dignified  his  encourage- 
ment of  his  countrymen  in  their  great  struggle  against 
Antiochus.  The  original  place  of  the  book,^  amongst 
the  later  Hagiographa  of  the  Jewish  canon,  and  the 
absence  of  any  mention  of  it  by  the  son  of  Sirach, 
strikingly  confirm  this  view  of  its  origin  ;  and,  if  some 
obscurit}^  rests  upon  details,  the  general  conclusion, 
that    the    book    contains   no    predictions,   except  by 

^  Auberlen  indeed  defends,  but  says,  '  Die  Unaclitlieit  Daniels  ist  in  der 
niodernen  Theoloyie  zum  Axiom  gewoi-den.' — Uer  Frvj^>Iiet  Daniel.  Ba."el. 

-  Compare  '  Philosophy  of  Universal  History*'  (part  of  the  Sippolijlus), 
vol.  i.  pp.  217-219,  with  GoU  in  der  Geschivhte,  istr  Theil.   pp.  514-540. 

^  The  saj'ing  tliat  later  Jews  changed  the  place  of  the  book  in  the  caiiun, 
seems  to  rest  on  no  evidence. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches,  77 

analogy  and  type,  can  hardly  be  gainsaid.  But  it 
may  not  the  less,  with  some  of  the  latest  Psalms,  have 
nerved  the  men  of  Israel,  when  they  turned  to  flight 
the  armies  of  the  aliens ;  and  it  suggests,  in  the 
godless  invader,  no  slight  forecast  of  Caligula  again 
invading  the  Temple  with  like  abomination,  as  well  as 
of  whatever  exalts  itself  against  faith  and  conscience, 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is  time  for  divines  to 
recognise  these  things,  since,  with  their  opportunities 
of  study,  the  current  error  is  as  discreditable  to 
them,  as  for  the  well-meaning  crowd,  who  are  taught 
to  identify  it  with  their  creed,  it  is  a  matter  of  grave 
compassion. 

It  provokes  a  smile  on  serious  topics  to  observe  the 
zeal  with  which  our  critic  vindicates  the  personality 
of  Jonah,  and  the  originality  of  his  hymn  (the  latter 
being  generally  thought  doubtful),  while  he  proceeds 
to  explain  that  tlie  narrative  of  our  book,  in  which  the 
hymn  is  imbedded,  contains  a  late  legend,^  founded  on 
misconception.  One  can  imagine  the  cheers  which 
the  opening  of  such  an  essay  might  evoke  in  some 
of  our  own  circles,  changing  into  indignation  as  the 
distinguished  foreigner  developed  his  views.  After 
this  he  might  speak  more  gently  of  mythical  theo- 
ries. 

But,  if  such  a  notion  alarms  those  who  think  that, 
apart  from  omniscience  belonging  to  the  Jews,  the 
proper  conclusion  of  reason  is  atheism ;  it  is  not  in- 
consistent with  the  idea  that  Almighty  God  has  been 
pleased  to  educate  men  and  nations,  employing  ima- 
gination no  less  than  conscience,  and  suffering  His 
lessons  to  play  freely  within  the  limits  of  humanity 
and  its  shortcomings.  Nor  will  any  fair  reader  rise 
from  the  prophetical  disquisitions  without  feeling  that 
he  has  been  under  the  guidance  of  a  master's  hand. 


>  The  present  writer  feels  excused  from  repeating  here  the  explanation 
given  in  the  appenlix  to  his  Sermon  on  Christian  Freedom.  London,  1858. 


78  Biinsens  Biblical  Researches. 

The  great  result  is  to  vindicate  the  work  of  the 
Eternal  Spirit ;  that  abiding  influence,  which  as  our 
church  teaches  us  in  the  Ordination  Service,  under- 
lies ail  others,  and  in  which  converge  all  images  of 
old  time  and  means  of  grace  now  ;  temple.  Scripture, 
finger,  and  hand  of  God ;  and  again,  preaching,  sacra- 
ments, waters  which  comfort,  and  flame  which  burns. 
If  such  a  Spirit  did  not  dwell  in  the  Church  the  Bible 
would  not  be  inspired,  for  the  Bible  is,  before  all 
things,  the  written  voice  of  the  congregation.  Bold 
as  such  a  theory  of  inspiration  may  sound,  it  was  the 
earliest  creed  of  the  Church,  and  it  is  the  only  one  to 
which  the  facts  of  Scripture  answer.  The  Sacred 
Writers  acknowledge  themselves  men  of  like  passions 
with  ourselves,  and  we  are  promised  illumination 
from  the  Spirit  which  dwelt  in  them.  Hence,  when 
we  find  our  Prayer-book  constructed  on  the  idea  of 
the  Church  being  an  inspired  society,  instead  of  ob- 
jecting that  every  one  of  us  is  fallible,  we  should 
define  inspiration  consistently  with  the  facts  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  of  human  nature.  These  would  neither 
exclude  the  idea  of  fallibility  among  Israelites  of  old, 
*nor  teach  us  to  quench  the  Spirit  in  true  hearts  for 
ever.  But  if  any  one  prefers  thinking  the  Sacred 
Writers  passionless  machines,  and  calling  Luther  and 
Milton  '  uninspired,'  let  him  co-operate  in  researches 
by  which  his  theory,  if  true,  will  be  triumphantly 
confirmed.  Let  him  join  in  considering  it  a  religious 
duty  to  print  the  most  genuine  text  of  those  words 
wliicli  he  calls  Divine ;  let  him  yield  no  grudging 
assent  to  the  removal  of  demonstrated  interpolations 
in  our  text  or  errors  in  our  translation ;  let  him  give 
English  equivalents  for  its  Latinisms,  once  natural, 
but  now  become  deceptive  ;  let  him  next  trace  fairly 
the  growth  of  our  complex  doctrines  out  of  scriptural 
germs,  whether  of  simple  thought  or  of  Hebrew  idiom  ; 
then,  if  he  be  not  prepared  to  trust  our  Church  with 
a  larger  freedom  in  incorporating  into  her  language 


Bunsens  Biblical  BesearcUes.  79 

the  results  of  such  inquiry  and  adapting  one-sided 
forms  to  wider  experience,  he  will  at  least  have  ac- 
quired such  a  knowledge  of  this  field  of  thought  as 
may  induce  him  to  treat  labourers  in  it  with  respect. 
A  recurrence  to  first  principles,  even  of  Revelation, 
ma}',  to  minds  prudent  or  timid,  seem  a  process  of  more 
danger  than  advantage  \  and  it  is  possible  to  defend 
our  traditional  theology,  if  stated  reasonably,  and  with 
allowance  for  the  accidents  of  its  growth.  But  what 
is  not  possible,  with  honesty,  is  to  uphold  a  fabric  of 
mingled  faith  and  speculation,  and  in  the  same  breath 
to  violate  the  instinct  which  believed,  and  blindfold 
the  mind  which  reasoned.  It  would  be  strange  if 
God's  work  were  preserved,  by  disparaging  the  instru- 
ments which  His  wisdom  chose  for  it. 

On  turning  to  the  Hippolytus}  we  find  a  congeries 
of  subjects,  but  yet  a  whole,  pregnant  and  suggestive 
beyond  any  book  of  our  time.  To  lay  deep  the  founda- 
tions of  faith  in  the  necessities  of  the  human  mind, 
and  to  establish  its  confirmation  by  history,  distin- 
guishing the  local  from  the  universal,  and  translat- 
ing the  idioms  of  priesthoods  or  races  into  the  broad 
speech  of  humanity,  are  amongst  parts  of  the  great 
argument.  Of  those  wonderful  aphorisms,  which  are 
further  developed  in  the  second  volume  of  Gott  in  der 
GeschicJite,  suffice  it  here,  that  their  author  stands  at 
the  farthest  pole  from  those  who  find  no  divine  foot- 
steps in  the  Gentile  world.  He  believes  in  Christ, 
because  he  first  believes  in  God  and  in  mankind. 
In  this  he  harmonizes  with  the  church  Fathers  be- 
fore Augustine,  and  with  all  our  deepest  Evangeli- 
cal school.  In  handling  the  New  Testament  he  re- 
mains faithful  to  his  habit  of  exalting  spiritual  ideas, 


*  Sippolytus  and  his  Age,  by  Chr.  C.  J.  Bunsen,  &c.  London,  1852. 
2nd  edition,  recast,  London,  1854.  Tlie  Jiwakening  freshness  of  the  first 
edition  is  hardl}'  replaced  by  the  f'uhiess  of  the  second.  It  is  to  be  wished 
tliat  the  Biblical  portions  of  the  PJdlosi'phy  of  Universal  I£is{ori/,\o\.  ii. 
pp.  T  49-338,  were  reprinted  in  a  cheap  foriu. 


so  Bunseiis  Biblical  Researches. 

and  the  leading  characters  by  whose  personal  impulse 
they  have  been  stamped  on  the  world.  Otlier  foun- 
dation for  healthful  mind  or  durable  society  he  suffers 
no  man  to  lay,  save  that  of  Jesus,  the  Christ  of  God. 
In  Him  he  finds  brought  to  perfection  that  religious 
idea,  which  is  the  thought  of  the  Eternal,  without 
conformity  to  which  our  souls  cannot  be  saved  from 
evil.  He  selects  for  emphasis  such  sayings  as, 
'  I  came  to  cast  fire  upon  the  earth,  and  how  I  v:ould  it 
tvere  already  kindled !  I  have  a  haptisni  to  he  baptized 
2iith,  and  how  am  I  straitened  until  it  be  accomplished T 
In  these  he  finds  the  innermost  mind  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  undimmecl  by  the  haze  of  mingled  imagination 
and  remembrance,  with  which  His  awful  figure  could 
scarcely  fail  to  be  at  length  invested  by  aifection. 
The  glimpses  thus  afforded  us  into  the  depth  of  our 
Lord's  purpose,  and  His  law  of  giving  rather  than 
receiving,  explain  the  wonder-working  power  with 
which  He  wielded  the  truest  hearts  of  His  genera- 
tion, and  correspond  to  His  life  and  death  of  self- 
sacrifice. 

This  recognition  of  Christ  as  the  moral  Saviour  of 
mankind  may  seem  to  some  Baron  Bunsen's  most 
obvious  claim  to  the  name  of  Christian.  For,  though 
he  embraces  with  more  than  orthodox  warmth  New 
Testament  terms,  he  explains  them  in  such  a  way, 
that  he  may  be  charged  with  using  Evangelical  lan- 
guage in  a  philosophical  sense.  But  in  reply  he  would 
ask,  what  proof  is  there  that  the  reasonable  sense  of 
St.  Paul's  words  was  not  the  one  which  the  Apostle 
intended  ?  Why  may  not  justification  by  faith  have 
meant  the  peace  of  mind,  or  sense  of  Divine  approval, 
which  comes  of  trust  in  a  righteous  God,  rather  than 
a  fiction  of  merit  by  transfer?  St.  Paul  would  then 
be  teaching  moral  responsibility,  as  opposed  to  sacer- 
dotalism ;  or  that  to  obey  is  better  than  sacrifice. 
Faith  would  be  opposed,  not  to  the  good  deeds  which 
conscience   requires,  but   to  works    of   anpeasement 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  81 

Idj  ritual.  Justification  would  be  neither  an  arbitrary 
ground  of  confidence,  nor  a  reward  upon  condition  of 
our  disclaiming  merit,  but  rather  a  verdict  of  forgive- 
ness upon  our  repentance,  and  of  acceptance  upon  the 
offering  of  our  hearts.  It  is  not  a  fatal  objection,  to 
say  that  St.  Paul  would  thus  teach  Natural  lieligion, 
unless  we  were  sure  that  he  was  bound  to  contradict 
it ;  but  it  is  a  confirmation  of  the  view,  if  it  brings 
liis  hard  sayings  into  harmony  with  the  Gospels  and 
with  the  Psalms,  as  well  as  with  the  instincts  of  our  best 
conscience.  If  we  had  dreamed  of  our  nearest  kindred 
in  irreconcilable  combat,  and  felt  anguish  at  the 
thought  of  opposing  either,  it  could  be  no  greater 
relief  to  awake,  and  find  them  at  concord,  than  it 
would  be  to  some  minds  to  find  the  antasronism  be- 
tween  Nature  and  Pevelation  vanishing^  in  a  wider 
grasp  and  deeper  perception  of  the  one,  or  in  a  better 
balanced  statement  of  the  other. 

If  our  philosopher  had  persuaded  us  of  the  moral 
nature  of  Justification,  he  would  not  shrink  from 
adding  that  Regeneration  is  a  correspondent  giving 
of  insight,  or  an  awakening  of  forces  of  the  soul.  By 
Pesurrection  he  would  mean  a  spiritual  quickening. 
Salvation  would  be  our  deliverance,  not  from  the  life- 
giving  God,  but  from  evil  and  darkness,  which  are  His 
finite  opposites,  (o  avTiKiiinvoq})  Propitiation  would  be 
the  recovery  of  that  peace,  which  cannot  be  while  sin 
divides  us  from  the  Searcher  of  hearts.  The  eternal 
is  what  belongs  to  God,  as  Spirit,  therefore  the  negation 
of  things  finite  and  unspiritual,  whether  world,  or 
letter,  or  rite  of  blood.  The  hateful  fires  of  the  vale 
of  Hinnom,  (Gehenna,)  are  hardly  in  the  strict  letter 
imitated  by  the  God  who  has  pronounced  them  cursed, 
but  may  serve  as  images  of  distracted  remorse.     Hea- 


' '  The  doctrine  of  the  Fall,  the  doctrine  of  Grace,  and  the  doctrine  of 
the  Atonement,  are  grounded  in  the  instincts  of  mankind.' — Mozley  on 
Predestination,  chap.  xi.  p.  33T. 

G 


S2  Bimsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

ven  is  not  a  place,  so  much  as  fulfilment  of  the  love 
of  God.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  no  more  Eomish 
sacerdotalism  than  Jewish  royalty,  but  the  realization 
of  the  Divine  Will  in  our  thoughts  and  lives.  This 
expression  of  spirit,  in  deed  and  form,  is  generically 
akin  to  creation,  and  illustrates  the  incarnation.  For 
though  the  true  substance  of  Deity  took  body  in  the 
Son  of  Man,  they  who  know  the  Divine  Substance  to 
be  Spirit,  will  conceive  of  such  embodiment  of  the 
Eternal  Mind  very  differently  from  those  who  abstract 
all  Divine  attributes,  such  as  consciousness,  fore- 
thought, and  love,  and  then  imagine  a  material 
residuum,  on  which  they  confer  the  Holiest  name. 
The  Divine  attributes  are^  consubstantial  with  the 
Divine  Essence.  He  who  abides  in  love,  abides  in 
God,  and  God  in  him.  Thus  the  incarnation  becom.es 
with  our  author  as  purely  spiritual,  as  it  was  with  St. 
Paul.  The  son  of  David  by  birth  is  the  Son  of  God 
by  the  spirit  of  holiness.  What  is  flesh,  is  born  of 
flesh,  and  what  is  spirit,  is  born  of  spirit.^ 

If  we  would  estimate  the  truth  of  such  viev/s,  the 
full  import  of  which  hardly  lies  on  the  surface,  we  find 
two  lines  of  inquiry  present  themselves  as  criteria  : 
and  each  of  these  divides  itself  into  two  branches. 
First,  as  regards  the  subject  matter,  both  spiritual 
affection  and  metaphysical  reasoning  forbid  us  to 
confine  revelatiai^s  like  those  of  Christ  to  the  first 
half  century  of  our  era,  but  show  at  least  affinities  of 
our  faith  existing  in  men's  minds,  anterior  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  renewed  with  deep  echo  from  living  hearts 
in  many  a  generation.  Again,  on  the  side  of  external 
criticism,  we  find  the  evidences  of  our  canonical  books 
and  of  the  patristic   authors    nearest   to   them,   are 


'  On  this  point  the  summary  of  St.  Augustine  at  the  end  of  his  15th 
book,  '  On  the  Trinity,'  is  worth  reading. 

^  '  Neque  sermo  aliud  quam  Deus  neque  caro  aliud  quam  homo,'  and  '  ex 
carne  homo,  ex  spiritu  l)eus.' — TertuUian  adv.  JPrax.  c.  xxvii.  Comp, 
Romans  i.  1-3. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  S3 

sufficient  to  prove  illustration  in  outward  act  of  prin- 
ciples perpetually  true ;  but  not  adequate  to  guarantee 
narratives  inherently  incredible,  or  precepts  evidently 
wrono-.  Hence  we  are  oblio-ed  to  assume  in  ourselves 
a  verifying  faculty,  not  unlike  the  discretion  which  a 
mathematician,  would  use  in  weighing  a  treatise  on 
geometry,  or  the  liberty  which  a  musician  would 
reserve  in  reporting  a  law  of  harmony.  Thus,  as  we 
are  expressly  told,  we  are  to  have  the  witness  in  our- 
selves. It  is  not  our  part  to  dictate  to  Almighty  Grod, 
tliat  He  ought  to  have  spared  us  this  strain  upon  our 
consciences ;  nor  in  giving  us  through  His  Son  a 
deeper  revelation  of  His  own  presence,  was  He  bound 
to  accompany  His  gift  by  a  special  form  of  record.^ 
Hence  there  is  no  antecedent  necessity  that  the  least 
rational  view  of  the  gospel  should  be  the  truest,  or 
that  our  faith  should  liave  no  human  element,  and  its 
records  be  exempt  from  historical  law.  Eather  we 
may  argue,  the  more  Divine  the  germ,  the  more  human 
must  be  the  development. 

Our  author  tlien  believes  St.  Paul,  because  he  under- 
stands him  reasonably.  Nor  does  his  acceptance  of 
Christ's  redemption  from  evil  bind  him  to  repeat 
traditional  fictions  about  our  canon,  or  to  read  its 
pages  with  that  dulness  which  turns  symbol  and 
poetry  into  materialism.  On  the  side  of  history  lies 
the  strength  of  his  genius.  His  treatment  of  the 
New  Testament  is  not  very  unlike  the  acute  criticism 
of  De  Wette,  tempered  by  the  affectionateness  of 
Neander.  He  finds  in  the  first  three  gospels  divergent 
forms  of  the  tradition,  once  oral,  and  perhaps  cate- 
chetical, in  the  congregations  of  the  apostles.  He  thus 
explains  the  numerous  traces  characteristic  of  a  tradi- 
tional narrative.  He  does  not  ascribe  the  quadruple 
division  of  record  to  the  four  churches  of  Jerusalem, 
Eome,  Antioch,  and  Alexandria,  on  the  same  principle 


'  Butler's  Analogy.     Part  ii,  ch.  iii.     Hooker,  Eccl.  Pol.  Books  i.  ii. 

G  2 


84  Bunsens  Biblical  Researches. 

as  liturgical  families  are  traced ;  but  he  requires  time 
enough  for  some  development,  and  for  the  passing 
of  some  symbol  into  story.     By  making  the  fourth 
gospel  the  latest  of  all  our  genuine  books,  he  accounts 
for  its  style  (so  much  more  Greek  than  the  Apocalypse), 
and  explains  many  passages.     The  verse,   'And  no 
man  hath  ascended  up  to  Heaven,  but  he  that  came 
down,'^  is  intelligible  as  a  free  comment  near  the  end 
of  the  first  century  ;  but  has  no  meaning  in  our  Lord's 
mouth  at   a  time  when  the   ascension  had  not  been 
heard  of.     So  the  Apocalypse,  if  taken  as  a  series  of 
poetical  visions,  which  represent  the  outpouring  of  the 
vials  of  wrath  upon   the  city  where   the   Lord  was 
slain,  ceases  to  be  a  riddle.    Its  horizon  answers  to  that 
of  Jerusalem  already  threatened   by  the    legions    of 
Vespasian,  and  its  language  is  partly  adapted  from 
the  older  prophets,  partly  a  repetition  of  our  Lord's 
warnings    as    described   by  the    Evangelists,    or   as 
deepened  into   wilder  threatenings  in  the  mouth  of 
the   later  Jesus,^  the  son  of  Ananus.     The  Epistle 
to    the  Hebrews,  so  different  in  its    conception   of 
faith,    and    in    its    Alexandrine    rhythm,    from    the 
doctrine  and  the  language  of  St.  Paul's  known  Epistles, 
has  its  degree  of  discrepance  explained  by  ascribing 
it  to  some^  companion   of  the  apostles ;  and  minute 
reasons  are  found  for  fixing  with  probability  on  Apollos. 
The  second    of   the    Petrine    Epistles,  having    alike 
external  and  internal  evidence  against  its  genuineness, 
is  necessarily  surrendered  as  a  whole ;  and  our  critic's 
good  faith  in  this  respect  is  more  certain  than  the 
ingenuity  with  which  he  reconstructs  a   part   of  it. 
The  second  chapter  may  not  improbably  be  a  quotation; 
but  its  quoter,  and  the  author  of  the  rest  of  the  epistle, 


*  John  iii.  13. 

*  Joseplius,  B.  J.  b.  vi.  c.  v.  §  3. 

^  In  my  own  judgment,  the  Epistle  bears  traces  of  being  ^05^-apostolic. 
ii.  3;  iii,  14;  X.  25-32;  xiii.  7,  8. 


Bansens  Biblical  Researches.  85 

need  not  therefore  liave  been  St.  Peter.  "Where  so 
many  points  are  handled,  fancifuhiess  in  some  may  be 
pardoned ;  and  indulgence  is  needed  for  the  eagerness 
with  which  St.  Paul  is  made  a  widower,  because  some 
Fathers^  misunderstood  the  texts,  '  true  yoke-fellow,' 
and  '  leading  about  a  sister.' 

After  a  survey  of  the  Canon ;  the  working  as  of 
leaven  in  meal,  of  that  awakening  of  mankind  which 
took  its  impulse  from  the  life  of  Christ,  is  traced 
through  the  first  seven  generations  of  Christendom. 
After  Origen,  the  first  freedom  of  the  Gospel  grows 
faint,  or  is  hardened  into  a  system  more  Ecclesiastical 
in  form,  and  more  dialectical  in  speculation,  the  fresh 
language  of  feeling  or  symbol  being  transferred  to  the 
domain  of  logic,  like  Homer  turned  into  prose  by  a 
scholiast.  It  need  not,  to  a  philosophical  observer, 
necessarily  follow  that  the  change  was  altogether  a 
corruption ;  for  it  may  have  been  the  Providential 
condition  of  religious  feeling  brought  into  contact  with 
intellect,  and  of  the  heavenly  kingdom's  expansion  in 
the  world.  The  elasticity  with  which  Christianity 
gathers  into  itself  the  elements  of  natural  piety,  and 
assimilates  the  relics  of  Grentile  form  and  usage,  can 
only  be  a  ground  of  objection  with  those  who  have 
reflected  little  on  the  nature  of  revelation.  But 
Baron  Bunsen,  as  a  countryman  of  Luther,  and  a 
foUow^er  of  those  Friends  of  God  whose  profound 
mysticism  appears  in  the  Theologia  Germanica,  takes 
decided  jDart  with  the  first  freshness  of  Christian  free- 
dom, against  the  confused  thought  and  furious  passions 
which  disfigure  most  of  the  great  councils.  Those 
who  imagine  that  the  laws  of  criticism  are  arbitrary 
(or  as  they  say,  subjective),  may  learn  a  different 
lesson  from  the  array  of  passages,  the  balance  of 
evidence,  and  the  estimate  of  each  author's  point  of 
view,  with  which  the  picture  of  Christian  antiquity 


Clement  and  Origen,  amongst  others. 


86  Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches. 

is  unrolled  in  the  pages  of  the  liippolytus.  Every 
triumpli  of  our  faith,  in  purifying  life,  or  in  softening 
and  enlightening  barbarism,  is  there  expressed  in  the 
lively  records  of  Liturgies  and  Canons ;  and  again 
the  shadows  of  night  approach,  with  monkish  fana- 
ticism and  imperial  tyranny,  amidst  intrigues  of 
bishops  who  play  the  parts,  alternately,  of  courtier 
and  of  demagogue. 

The  picture  was  too  truly  painted  for  that  ecclesias- 
tical school  which  appeals  loudest  to  antiquity,  and 
has  most  reason  to  dread  it.  While  they  imagine  a 
system  of  Divine  immutability,  or  one  in  which,  at 
worst,  holy  fathers  unfolded  reverently  Apostolic 
oracles,  the  true  history  of  the  Church  exhibits  the 
turbulent  growth  of  youth  ;  a  democracy,  with  all  its 
passions,  transforming  itself  into  sacerdotalism,  and 
a  poetry,  with  its  figures,  partly  represented  by  doc- 
trine, and  partly  perverted.  Even  the  text  of  Scrip- 
ture fluctuated  in  sympathy  with  the  changes  of  the 
Church,  especially  in  passages  bearing  on  asceticism, 
and  the  fuller  development  of  the  Trinity.  The  first 
Christians  held  that  the  heart  was  purified  by  faith ; 
the  accompanying  symbol,  water,  became  by  degrees 
the  instrument  of  purification.  Holy  baptism  w^as  at 
first  preceded  by  a  vow,  in  which  the  young  soldier 
expressed  his  consciousness  of  spiritual  truth ;  but 
when  it  became  twisted  into  a  false  analogy  with  cir- 
cumcision, the  rite  degenerated  into  a  magical  form, 
and  the  Augustinian  notion,  of  a  curse  inherited  by 
infants,  was  developed  in  connexion  with  it.  Sacrifice 
with  the  Psalmist,  meant  not  the  goat's  or  heifer's 
blood-shedding,  but  the  contrite  heart  expressed  by  it. 
So,  with  St.  Paul,  it  meant  the  presenting  of  our 
souls  and  bodies,  as  an  oblation  of  the  reason,  or 
worship  of  the  mind.  The  ancient  liturgies  contain 
prayers  that  God  would  make  our  sacrifices  'rational,' 
that  is,  spiritual.  Religion  was  thus  moralized  by  a 
sense  of  the   righteousness   of    God ;    and  morality 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  87 

transfigured  into  religion,  by  a  sense  of  His  holiness. 
Vestiges  of  this  earliest  creed  jet  remain  in  our  com- 
munion service.  As  in  life,  so  in  sacrament,  the  first 
Christians  ofiered  themselves  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ ; 
therefore,  in  his  name.  But  when  the  priest  took  the 
place  of  the  congregation,  when  the  sacramental  signs 
were  treated  as  the  natural  body,  and  the  bodily 
sufi"erings  of  Christ  enhanced  above  the  self-sacrifice 
of  His  will  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross,  the  centre 
of  Christian  faith  became  inverted,  though  its  form 
remained.  Men  forgot  that  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews 
exalts  the  blood  of  an  everlasting,  that  is,  of  a  spiritual 
covenant ;  for  what  is  fleshly,  vanishes  away.  The 
angels  who  hover  with  phials,  catching  the  drops  from 
the  cross,  are  pardonable  in  art,  but  make  a  step  in 
theology  towards  transubstantiation.  Salvation  from 
evil  through  sharing  the  Saviour's  spirit,  was  shifted 
into  a  notion  of  purchase  from  God  through  the  price 
of  His  bodily  pangs.  The  deep  drama  of  heart  and 
mind  became  externalized  into  a  commercial  transfer, 
and  this  effected  by  a  form  of  ritual.  So  with  the 
more  speculative  Fathers,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
was  a  profound  metaphysical  problem,  wedded  to  what 
seemed  consequences  of  the  incarnation.  But  in  ruder 
hands,  it  became  a  materialism  almost  idolatrous,  or 
an  arithmetical  enigma.^  Even  now,  diff'erent  accepters 
of  the  same  doctrinal  terms  hold  many  shades  of  con- 
ception between  a  philosophical  view  which  recom- 
mends itself  as  easiest  to  believe,  and  one  felt  to  be  so 
irrational,  that  it  calls  in  the  aid  of  terror.  '  Quasi  non 
unitas,  irrationaliter  collecta,  hseresin  faciat ;  et  Trinitas 
ratioualiter  expensa,  veritatem  constituat,'  said  Ter- 
tullian.- 


-^  See  this  shown,  with  just  rehuke  of  some  Oxford  sophistries,  in  the 
learned  Bishop  Kaye's  Council  of  Nic^sa,  London,  1853  ;  a  book  of 
admirable  moderation,  though  hardly  of  speculative  power.  See  pp.  163, 
168,  194,  199,  219,  226,  251,  252. 

•  Adv.  Prax.  c.  iii. 


88  Bunsens  Biblical  BesearcJies. 

The  liistorian  of  such  variations  was  not  likely, 
with  those  whose  theology  consists  of  invidious  terms, 
to  escape  the  nickname  of  Pelagian  or  Sabellian. 
He  evidently  could  not  state  Original  Sin  in  so  exag- 
gerated a  form  as  to  make  the  design  of  God  altered 
by  the  first  agents  in  His  creation,  or  to  destroy  the 
notion  of  moral  choice  and  the  foundation  of  ethics. 
Nor  could  his  Trinity  destroy  by  inference  that  divine 
Unity  which  all  acknowledge  in  terms.  The  fall  of 
Adam  represents  with  him  ideally  the  circumscrip- 
tion of  our  spirits  in  limits  of  flesh  and  time,  and 
practically  the  selfish  nature  with  which  we  fall  from 
the  likeness  of  God,  which  should  be  fulfilled  in  man. 
So  his  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  ingenuously  avoids 
building  on  texts  which  our  Unitarian  critics  from 
Sir  Isaac  Newton  to  Gilbert  Wakefield  have  im- 
pugned, but  is  a  philosophical  rendering  of  the  first 
chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel.  The  profoundest  ana- 
lysis of  our  world  leaves  the  law  of  thought  as  its 
ultimate  basis  and  bond  of  coherence.  This  thought 
is  con  substantial  with  the  Being  of  the  Eternal  I  AM. 
Being,  becoming,  and  animating,  or  substance,  think- 
ing, and  conscious  life,  are  expressions  of  a  Triad, 
which  may  be  also  represented  as  will,^  wisdom,  and 
love,  as  light,  radiance,  and  warmth,  as  fountain, 
stream,  and  united  flow,  as  mind,  thought,  and  con- 
sciousness, as  person,  word,  and  life,  as  Father,  Son, 
and  Spirit.  In  virtue  of  such  identity  of  Thought 
with  Being  the  primitive  Trinity  represented  neither 
three  originant  principles  nor  three  transient  phases, 
but  three  eternal  subsistences  in  one  Divine  Mind. 
'The  unity  of  God,  as  the  eternal  Father,  is  the'' 
fundamental  doctrine  of  Christianity.'     But  the  I)i- 


'  '  Auinia  hominis  naturu  sua  in  se  habet  Ss.  Trinitatis  simulacrum  ;  in 
se  eniin  tria  complectitur,  Meutem,  Intellectum,  et  Voluntateiu  ;  .  .  . 
cojjitat  .  .  .  pei'cipit  .  .  .  vult.' — Bede  i.  8.  Copying  almost 
verbally  St.  Augustine. 

-  m^polytus,  vol  ii.  p.  46.     ist  ed. 


Bunsens  Biblical  Besearclies.  89' 

vine  Consciousness  or  Wisdom,  consubstantial  with  the 
Eternal  AVill,  becoming  personal  in  the  Son  of  man,  is 
the  express  image  of  the  Father ;  and  Jesus  actually, 
but  also  mankind  ideally,  is  the  Son  of  God.  If  all 
this  has  a  Sabellian  or  almost  a  Brahmanical  sound, 
its  impugners  are  bound,  even  on  patristic  grounds,  to 
show  how  it  differs  from  the  doctrine  of  Justin  Martyr, 
TertuUian,  Hippolytus,  Origen,  and  the  historian 
Eusebius.  If  the  language  of  those  very  Fathers  who 
wrote  against  different  forms  of  Sabellianism,  would, 
if  now  first  used,  be  condemned  as  Sabellian,  are  we 
to  follow  the  ancient  or  the  modern  guides?  May 
not  a  straining  after  orthodoxy,  with  all  the  confusion 
incident  to  metaphj^sical  terms,  have  led  the  scholars 
beyond  their  masters  ?  We  have  some  authorities, 
who,  if  Athanasius  himself  were  quoted  anonymously, 
would  neither  recognise  the  author  nor  approve  his 
doctrine.  They  would  judge  him  by  the  creed  bear- 
ing his  name,  the  sentiments  of  which  are  as  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  his  genuine  works  as  its  Latin  terms 
are  with  his  Greek  language.  Baron  Bunsen  vlvaj  ad- 
mire that  creed  as  little  as  Jeremy  Taylor^  and  Tillot- 
son  did,  without  necessarily  contradicting  the  great 
Father  to  whom  it  is  ascribed.  Still  more,  as  a  phi- 
losopher, sitting  loose  to  our  Articles,  he  may  delibe- 
rately assign  to  the  conclusions  of  councils  a  very  sub- 
ordinate value  ;  and  taking  his  stand  on  the  genuine 
words  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  the  immutable  laws  of 
God  to  the  human  mind,  he  may  say  either  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity  agrees  with  these  tests,  or,  if  you 
make  it  disagree,  you  make  it  false.  If  he  errs  in  his 
speculation,  he  gives  us  in  his  critical  researches  the 
surest  means  of  correcting  his  errors  ;  and  his  polemic 
is  at  least  triumphant  against  those  who  load  the 
Church  with  the  conclusions  of  patristic  thought,  and 


^  '  Liherty  of  Prophesyinc/,'  pp.491,  492;  vol.  vii.  ed.  Heber.     Burnet's 
'  Own  Times.'     Letter  from  Tillotson  at  the  end. 


90  Bunsens  Biblical  ResearcJies. 

forbid  our  thinking  sufficiently  to  understand  them. 
As  the  coolest  heads  at  Trent  said,  Take  care  lest  in 
condemning  Luther  you  condemn  St.  Augustine  ;  so 
if  our  defenders  of  the  faith  would  have  men  believe 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  they  had  better  not  forbid 
metaphysics,  nor  even  sneer  at  Eealism. 

The  strong  assertions  in  the  Hippolytus  concerning 
the  freedom  of  the  human  will,  may  require  some 
balance  from  the  language  of  penitence  and  of  prayer. 
They  must  be  left  here  to  comparison  with  the  con- 
stant language  of  the  Greek  Church,  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  first  four  centuries,  with  the  schoolmen's  prac- 
tical evasions  of  the  Augustinian  standard  which  they 
professed,  and  with  the  guarded,  but  earnest  protests 
and  limitations  of  our  own  ethical  divines  from  Hooker 
and  Jeremy  Ta^dor  to  Butler  and  Hampden. 

On  the  great  hope  of  mankind,  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  the  Hippolytus  left  something  to  be  desired. 
It  had   a  Brahmanical,  rather  than   a  Christian,  or 
Platonic,  sound.     But  the   second  volume  of  Gott  in 
der  GeschicJde  seems  to  imply  that,  if  the  author  recoils 
from  the  fleshly  resurrection  and  Judaic  millennium 
of  Justin  Martyr,  he  still  shares  the  aspiration  of  the 
noblest  philosophers    elsewhere,   and   of    the   firmer 
believers  among  ourselves,  to  a  revival  of  conscious 
and  individual  life,  in  such  a  form  of  immortality  as 
may  consist  with  union  with  the  Spirit  of  our  Eternal 
life-giver.      Remarkable  in  the  same  volume  is  the 
generous    vindication    of  the    first    Buddhist    Sakya 
against  the  misunderstandings  which  fastened  on  him 
a  doctrine  of  atheism  and  of  annihilation.     The  pene- 
trating prescience  of  Neander  seems  borne  out  on  this 
point  by  genuine  texts  against  the  harsher  judgment 
of  recent  Sanskrit  scholars.  He  judged  as  a  philosopher, 
and  they  as  grammarians. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  say  on  what  subject  Baron 
Bunsen  is  not  at  home.  But  none  is  handled  by  him 
with  more  familiar  mastery  than  that  of  Liturgies, 


Bunsens  Biblical  Researches.  91' 

ancient  and  modern.  He  has  endeavoured  to  enlarge 
the  meagre  stores  of  the  Lutheran  Church  by  a  collec- 
tion of  evangelical  songs  and  prayers.^  Eich  in 
primitive  models,  yet  adapted  to  Lutheran  habits, 
this  collection  might  be  suggestive  to  any  Noncon- 
formist congregations  which  desire  to  enrich  or  temper 
their  devotions  by  the  aid  of  common  prayers.  Even 
our  own  Church,  though  not  likely  to  recast  her  ritual 
in  a  foreign  mould,  might  observe  with  profit  the  greater 
calmness  and  harmony  of  the  older  forms,  as  com- 
pared with  the  amplifications,  which  she  has  in  some 
cases  adopted.  Our  Litany  is  hardly  equal  to  its  germ. 
Nor  do  our  collects  exhaust  available  stores.  Yet  if 
it  be  one  great  test  of  a  theology,  that  it  shall  bear  to 
be  prayed,  our  author  has  hardly  satisfied  it.  Either 
reverence,  or  deference,  may  have  prevented  him  from 
bringing  his  prayers  into  entire  harmony  with  his 
criticisms  ;  or  it  may  be  that  a  discrepance,  which  we 
should  constantly  diminish,  is  likely  to  remain  between 
our  feelings  and  our  logical  necessities.  It  is  not  the 
less  certain,  that  some  reconsideration  of  the  polemical 
element  in  our  Liturgy,  as  of  the  harder  scholasticism 
in  our  theology,  would  be  the  natural  offspring  of  any 
age  of  research  in  wdiich  Christianity  was  free  ;  and  if 
this,  as  seems  but  too  probable,  is  to  be  much  longer 
denied  us,  the  consequence  must  be  a  lessening  of  moral 
strength  within  our  pale,  and  an  accession  to  influences 
which  will  not  always  be  friendly.  But  to  estrange  our 
doctrinal  teaching  from  the  convictions,  and  our  prac- 
tical administration  from  the  influence,  of  a  Protestant 
Laity,  are  parts  of  one  policy,  and  that  not  always  a 
blind  one.  Nor  is  doctrinal  narrowness  of  view  without 
practical  counterpart  in  the  rigidity  which  excludes  the 
breath  of  prayer  from  our  churches  for  six  days  in  seven, 
ratber  than  permit  a  clergyman  to  select  such  portions 
as  devotion  suggests,  and  average  strength  permits. 


Gesang-  unci  Gebet-huch.    Hamburg.     1846, 


92  Bunsens  Biblical  Researches. 

It  did  not  fall  witliin  the  scope  of  this  Essay  to 
define  the  extent  of  its  illustrious  subject's  obligations 
(which  he  would  no  doubt  largely  acknowledge)  to 
contemporary  scholars,  such  as  Mr.  Birch,  or  others. 
Nor  was  it  necessary  to  touch  questions  of  eth- 
nology and  politics  which  might  be  raised  by  those 
who  value  Germanism  so  far  as  it  is  human,  rather 
than  so  far  as  it  is  German.  Sclavonians  might 
notice  the  scanty  acknowledgment  of  the  vast  con- 
tributions of  their  race  to  the  intellectual  wealth 
of  Germany.'  Celtic  scholars  might  remark  that 
triumph  in  a  discovery  which  has  yet  to  be  proved, 
regarding  the  law  of  initial  mutations  in  their  language, 
is  premature."  Nor  would  they  assent  to  our  author's 
ethical  description  of  their  race.  So,  when  he  asks  : 
'  How  long  shall  we  bear  this  fiction  of  an  external 
revelation,' — that  is,  of  one  violating  the  heart  and 
conscience,  instead  of  expressing  itself  through  them — 
or  when  he  says,  '  All  this  is  delusion  for  those  who 
believe  it ;  but  what  is  it  in  the  mouths  of  those  who 
teach  it  ?' — or  when  he  exclaims,  '  Oh  the  fools  !  who, 
if  they  do  see  the  imminent  perils  of  this  age,  think 
to  ward  them  off  by  narrow-minded  persecution !' 
and  when  he  repeats,  '  Is  it  not  time,  in  truth,  to 
withdraw  the  veil  from  our  misery  ?  to  tear  off  the 
mask  from  hypocrisy,  and  destroy  that  sham  which  is 
undermining  all  real  ground  under  our  feet  ?  to  point 
out  the  dangers  which  surround,  nay,  threaten  already 
to  engulf  us?' — there  will  be  some  who  think  his 
lano-uao^e  too  vehement  for  cfood  taste.  Others  will 
think  burning  words  needed  by  the  disease  of  our  time. 
These  will  not  quarrel  on  points  of  taste  with  a  man 


'  One  mij^ht  ask,  whether  the  experience  of  our  two  latest  wars  encourages 
our  looking  to  Germany  lor  any  unselfish  sympathy  with  the  rights  of 
nations  ?     Or  has  she  not  rather  earned  the  curse  of  Meroz  ^ 

^  So  the  vaunted  discovery  of  Professor  Zeuss,  deriving  Cymey  from  an 
imaginary  word  '  Combroges,'  is  against  the  testimony  of  the  best  Greek 
geographers. . 


Bunsens  Biblical  Besearches.  93 

who  in  our  darkest  perplexity  has  reared  again  the 
banner  of  truth,  and  uttered  thoughts  which  give 
courage  to  the  weak,  and  sight  to  the  blind.  If  Pro- 
testant Europe  is  to  escape  those  shadows  of  the 
twelfth  century,  which  with  ominous  recurrence  are 
closing  round  us,  to  Baron  Bunsen  will  belong  a  fore- 
most place  among  the  champions  of  light  and  right. 
Any  points  disputable  or  partially  erroneous,  which 
may  be  discovered  in  his  many  works,  are  as  dust  in 
the  balance,  compared  with  the  mass  of  solid  learning, 
and  the  elevating  influence  of  a  noble  and  Christian 
spirit.  Those  who  have  assailed  his  doubtful  points 
are  equally  opposed  to  his  strong  ones.  Our  own 
testimony  is,  where  we  have  been  best  able  to  follow 
him,  we  have  generally  found  most  reason  to  agree 
with  him.  But  our  little  survey  has  not  traversed 
his  vast  field,  nor  our  plummet  sounded  his  depth. 

Bunsen,  with  voice,  like  sound  of  trumpet  born, 

Conscious  of  strength,  and  confidently  bold, 
Well  feign  the  sons  of  Loyola  the  scorn 

Which  from  thy  books  would  scare  their  startled  fold- 
To  thee  our  Earth  disclosed  her  pvn-ple  morn, 
And  Time  his  long-lost  centuries  unrolled  ; 
Far  Realms  unveiled  the  mystery  of  their  Tongue; 
Thou  all  their  garlands  on  the  Ceoss  hast  hung. 

My  lips  but  ill  could  frame  thy  Lutheran  speech, 
Nor  suits  thy  Teuton  vaunt  our  British  pride — 

But  ah !  not  dead  my  soul  to  giant  reach, 
That  envious  Eld's  vast  interval  defied ; 

And  when  those  fables  strange,  our  hirelings  teach, 
I  saw  by  genuine  learning  cast  aside. 

Even  like  Linnaius  kneeling  on  the  sod. 

For  faith  from  falsehood  severed,  thank  I  GOD. 


ON  THE  STUDY  OF  THE  EVIDENCES  OF 
CHRISTIANITY. 


THE  investigation  of  that  important  and  extensive 
subject  which  includes  what  have  been  usually 
designated  as  '  The  Evidences  of  Eevelation/  has  pre- 
scriptively  occupied  a  considerable  space  in  the  field 
of  theological  literature,  especially  as  cultivated  in 
England.  There  is  scarcely  one,  perhaps,  of  our  more 
eminent  divines  who  has  not  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree distinguished  himself  in  this  department,  and 
scarcely  an  aspirant  for  theological  distinction  who 
has  not  thought  it  one  of  the  surest  paths  to  that 
eminence,  combining  so  many  and  varied  motives  of 
ambition,  to  come  forward  as  a  champion  in  this 
arena.  At  the  present  day  it  might  be  supposed  the 
discussion  of  such  a  subject,  taken  up  as  it  has  been 
successively  in  all  its  conceivable  different  bearings, 
must  be  nearly  exhausted.  It  must,  however,  be 
borne  in  mind,  that,  unlike  the  essential  doctrines  of 
Christianity, '  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever,' 
these  external  accessories  constitute  a  subject  which 
of  necessity  is  perpetually  taking  somewhat  at  least  of 
a  new  form,  with  the  successive  phases  of  opinion  and 
knowledge.  And  it  thus  becomes  not  an  unsatisfactory 
nor  unimportant  object,  from  time  to  time,  to  review  the 
condition  in  which  the  discussion  stands,  and  to  com- 
ment on  the  peculiar  features  which  at  any  particular 
epoch  it  most  prominently  presents,  as  indicative  of 
strength  or  weakness — of  the  advance  and  security  of 
the  cause — if,  in  accordance  with  the  real  progress  of 
enlightenment,  its  advocates  have  had  the  wisdom  to 
rescind  what  better  information  showed  defective,  and 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  ClLnstianity,  95  , 

to  substitute  views  in  accordance  with  higher  know- 
ledge ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  inevitable  symptoms 
of  weakness  and  inefficiency,  if  such  salutary  cautions 
have  been  neglected.  To  offer  some  general  remarks 
of  this  kind  on  the  existing  state  of  these  discussions 
will  be  the  object  of  the  present  Essay. 

Before  proceeding  to  the  main  question  we  may, 
however,   properly  premise  a  brief  reflection  on  the 
spirit   and  temper  in  which  it  should  be  discussed. 
In  writings   on  these  subjects  it  must  be.  confessed 
we  too   often  find   indications    of  a   polemical  acri- 
mony,    where     a     calm    discussion     of     arguments 
would    be    more    becoming    as   well   as    more   con- 
sistent   with    the     proposed    object ;     the    too    fre- 
quent assumption  of  the  part  of  the  special  partisan 
and  ingenious  advocate,  when    the    character    to    be 
sustained   should  be   rather   that   of   the   unbiassed 
judye ;    too  much   of  hasty  and   captious    objection 
on  the  one  hand,  or  of  settled  and  inveterate  pre- 
judice  on   the   other;    too    strong    a    tendency   not 
fairly  to  appreciate,  or  even  to  keep  out  of  sight,  the 
broader  features  of  the  main  question,  in  the  eager- 
ness to  single  out  particular  salient  points  for  attack ; 
too  ready  a  disposition  to  triumph  in  lesser  details, 
rather  than  steadily  to  grasp  more  comprehensive  prin- 
ciples, and  leave  minor  difficulties  to  await  their  solu- 
tion, and  to  regard  this  or  that  particular  argument  as 
if  the  entire  credit  of  the  cause  were  staked  upon  it. 

And  if  on  the  one  side  there  is  often  a  just  com- 
plaint that  objections  are  urged  in  a  manner  and  tone 
offensive  to  religious  feeling  and  conscientious  prepos- 
sessions, which  are,  at  least,  entitled  to  respectful 
consideration;  so,  on  the  other,  there  is  too  often 
evinced  a  want  of  sympathy  with  the  difficulties 
which  many  so  seriously  feel  in  admitting  the  alleged 
evidences,  and  which  many  habitual  believers  do  not 
appreciate,  perhaps  because  they  have  never  thought 
or  inquired  deeply  on  the  subject ;  or  what  is  more, 
have  believed  it  wrong  and  impious  to  do  so. 


96  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity, 

Any  appeal  to  argument  must  imply  perfect  free- 
dom of  conviction.  It  is  a  palpable  absurdity  to  put 
reasons  before  a  man,  and  yet  wish  to  compel  him  to 
adopt  them,  or  to  anathematize  him  if  he  find  them 
unconvincing ;  to  repudiate  him  as  an  unbeliever, 
because  he  is  careful  to  find  satisfactory  grounds  for 
his  belief;  or  to  denounce  him  as  a  sceptic,  because  he 
is  scrupulous  to  discriminate  the  truth ;  to  assert  that 
his  honest  doubts  evince  a  moral  obliquity ;  in  a  word, 
that  he  is  no  judge  of  his  own  mind ;  while  it  is 
obviously  implied  that  his  instructor  is  so — or,  in 
other  words,  is  omniscient  and  infallible.  When 
serious  difficulties  have  been  felt  and  acknowledged 
on  any  important  subject,  and  a  writer  undertakes 
the  task  of  endeavouring  to  obviate  them,  it  is  but  a 
fair  demand  that,  if  the  reader  be  one  of  those  who 
do  not  feel  the  difficulties,  or  do  not  need  or  appreciate 
any  further  argument  to  enlighten  or  support  his 
belief,  he  should  not  cavil  at  the  introduction  of 
topics,  which  may  be  valuable  to  others,  though  need- 
less, or  distasteful  to  himself.  Such  persons  are  in 
no  way  called  upon  to  enter  into  the  discussion,  but 
they  are  unfair  if  they  accuse  those  who  do  so  of 
agitating  questions  of  whose  existence  tliey  have  been 
unconscious  ;  and  of  unsettling  men's  minds,  because 
their  own  prepossessions  have  been  long  settled,  and 
they  do  not  perceive  the  difficulties  of  others,  which  it 
is  the  very  aim  of  such  discussion  to  remove. 

Perhaps  most  of  the  various  parties  who  have  at  all 
engaged  in  the  discussion  of  these  subjects  are  agreed 
in  admitting^  at  least  some  distinction  between  the  in- 
fluences  of  feeling  and  those  of  reason ;  the  impressions 
of  conscience  and  the  deductions  of  intellect ;  the  dicta- 
tions of  moral  and  religious  sense,  and  the  conclusions 
from  evidence ;  in  reference  especially  to  the  questions 
agitated  as  to  the  grounds  of  belief  in  Divine  revela- 
tion. Indeed,  when  we  take  into  account  the  nature 
of  the  objects  considered,  the  distinction  is  manifest 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  97 

and  undeniable  ;  when  a  reference  is  made  to  matters 
of  external  fad  (insisted  on  as  such)  it  is  obvious  that 
reason  and  intellect  can  alone  be  the  proper  judges  of 
the  evidence  of  such  flicts.  When,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  question  may  be  as  to  points  of  moral  or  religious 
doctrine,  it  is  equally  clear,  other  and  higher  grounds 
of  judgment  and  conviction  must  be  appealed  to. 

In  the  questions  now  under  consideration,  Ijoth 
classes  of  arguments  are  usually  involved.  It  is  the 
professed  principle  of  at  least  a  large  section  of  those 
who  discuss  the  subject,  that  the  cjuestion  is  materially 
connected  with  the  truth  and  evidence  of  certain 
external  alleged  historical  facts  ;  while  again,  all  will 
admit  that  the  most  essential  and  vital  portion  of 
the  inquiry  refers  to  matters  of  a  higher — of  a  more 
internal,  moral,  and  spiritual  kind. 

Eut  while  this  distinction  is  clearly  implied  and 
even  professedly  acknowledged  by  the  disputants,  it 
is  worthy  of  careful  remark,  how  extensively  it  is 
overlooked  and  kept  out  of  sight  in  practice ;  how 
commonly — ^almost  universally,  we  find  writers  and 
reasoners  taking  up  the  question,  even  with  much 
ability  and  eloquence,  and  arguing  it  out  sometimes 
on  the  one,  sometimes  on  the  other  ground,  forgetful 
of  their  own  professions,  and  in  a  way  often  quite 
inconsistent  with  them. 

Thus  we  continually  find  the  professed  advocates  of 
an  external  revelation  and  historical  evidence,  never- 
theless making  their  appeal  to  conscience  and  feelino-, 
and  decrying  the  exercise  of  reason  ;  and  charging 
those  who  find  critical  objections  in  the  evidence  with 
spiritual  blindness  and  moral  perversity  ;  and  on  the 
other  hand  we  observe  the  professed  upholders  of 
fiiith  and  internal  conviction  as  the  only  sound  basis 
of  religion,  nevertheless  regarding  the  external  flicts 
as  not  less  essential  truth  which  it  would  be  profane 
to  question.  It  often  seems  to  be  rather  the  want  of 
clear  apprehension  in  the  first  instance  of  the  distinct 

H 


JC-^te 


98  Studij  of  the  IJvidenccs  of  Clinstiamty. 

kind  and  character  of  such  inquiries,  when  on  the  one 
side  directed  to  the  abstract  question  of  evidence,  and 
when  on  the  other  pointing  to  i\\Q:  practical  object  of 
addressing  the  moral  and  religious  feelings  and  affec- 
tions, which  causes  so  many  writers  on  these  subjects 
to  betray  an  inconsistency  between  their  professed 
purjmse  and  their  mode  of  carrying  it  out.  They  avow 
matter-of-fact  inquiry — a  question  of  the  critical  evi- 
dence for  alleged  events — yet  they  pursue  it  as  if  it 
Avere  an  appeal  to  moral  sentiments  ;  in  which  case  it 
would  be  a  virtue  to  assent,  and  a  crime  to  deny  :  if  it 
be  the  one,  it  should  not  be  proposed  as  the  other. 

Thus  it  is  the  common  language  of  orthodox  writings 
and  discourses  to  advise  the  believer,  when  objections 
or  difficulties  arise,  not  to  attempt  to  offer  a  precise 
answer,  or  to  argue  the  point,  but  rather  to  look  at 
the  whole  subject  as  of  a  kind  which  ought  to  be  exempt 
from  critical  scrutiny  and  be  regarded  with  a  submis- 
sion of  judgment,  in  the  spirit  of  humility  and  faith. 
This  advice  may  be  very  just  in  reference  to  practical 
impressions ;  yet  if  the  question  be  one  (as  is  so  much 
insisted  on)  of  external  facts,  it  amounts  to  neither 
more  nor  less  than  a  tacit  surrender  of  the  claims  of 
external  evidence  and  historical  reality.  We  are  told 
that  we  ought  to  investigate  such  high  questions 
rather  with  our  affections  than  with  our  logic,  and 
approach  them  rather  with  good  dispositions  and 
right  motives,  and  with  a  desire  to  find  the  doctrine 
true  ;  and  thus  shall  discover  the  real  assurance  of  its 
truth  in  obeying  it ;  suggestions  which,  however  good 
in  a  woral  2i\iA practical  sense,  are  surely  inapplicable  if 
it  be  made  a  question  oi facts. 

If  we  were  inquiring  into  historical  evidence  in  D.ny 
other  case  (suppose  e.ff.  of  Caesar's  landing  in  Britain)  it 
would  be  little  to  the  purpose  to  be  told  that  we  must 
look  at  the  case  through  our  desires  rather  than  our 
reason,  and  exercise  a  believing  disposition  rather  than 
rashly  scrutinize  testimony  by  critical  cavils.     Those 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  ChndlanUy.  99 

who  speak  thus  on  the  question  of  rehgious  beHef,  in 
fact  shift  the  basis  of  all  belief  from  the  alleged  evidence 
of  facts  to  the  influence  of  an  internal  persuasion ; 
they  virtually  give  up  the  evidential  proof  so  strongly 
insisted  on,  and  confess  that  the  whole  is,  after  all,  a 
mere  matter  of  feeling  and  sentiment,  just  as  much  as 
those  to  whose  views  they  so  greatly  object  as  openly 
avowing  the  very  same  thing. 

We  find  certain  forms  of  expression  commonly 
stereotyped  among  a  very  large  class  of  Divines, 
whenever  a  critical  difficulty  or  a  sceptical  exception 
is  urged,  which  are  very  significant  as  to  the  pre- 
valent view  of  religious  evidence.  Their  reply  is 
always  of  this  tenor :  '  These  are  not  subjects  on 
which  you  can  expect  demonstrative  evidence ;  you 
must  be  satisfied  to  accept  such  general  proof  or 
probability  as  the  nature  of  the  question  allows  :  you 
must  not  inquire  too  curiously  into  these  things  ;  it  is 
sufficient  that  we  have  a  general  moral  evidence  of  the 
doctrines ;  exact  critical  discussion  will  always  rake 
up  difficulties,  to  which  perhaps  no  satisfactory  answer 
can  be  at  once  given.  A  precise  sceptical  caviller  will 
always  find  new  objections  as  soon  as  the  first  are 
refuted.  It  is  in  vain  to  seek  to  convince  reason 
unless  the  conscience  and  the  will  be  first  well-disposed 
to  accept  the  truth.'  Such  is  the  constant  language 
of  orthodox  theologians.  What  is  it  but  a  mere  trans- 
lation into  other  phraseology,  of  the  very  assertions  of 
the  sceptical  transcendentalist  ? 

Indeed,  wiJi  many  who  take  up  these  questions, 
they  are  almost  avowedl}^  placed  on  the  ground  of 
practical  expediency  rather  than  of  abstract  truth. 
Good  and  earnest  men  become  alarmed  for  the 
dangerous  consequences  they  think  likely  to  result 
from  certain  speculations  on  these  subjects,  and 
thence  in  arguing  against  them,  are  led  to  assume 
a  tone  of  superiority,  as  the  guardians  of  virtue 
and  censors  of  right,  rather  than  as  unprejudiced  in- 


100         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

quirers  into  the  matters-of-fact  on  which,  nevertheless, 
they  professedly  make  the  case  rest.  And  thus  a  dis- 
position has  been  encouraged  to  regard  any  such 
question  as  one  of  riylit  or  wrong,  rather  than  one  of 
truth  or  error :  to  treat  all  objections  as  profane,  and 
to  discard  exceptions  unanswered  as  shocking  and 
immoral. 

If  indeed  the  discussion  were  carried  on  upon  the 
professed  ground  of  spiritual  impression  and  religious 
feeling,  there  would  be  a  consistency  in  such  a  course  ; 
but  when  evidential  arguments  are  avowedly  addressed 
to  the  intellect,  it  is  especially  preposterous  to  shift  the 
ground,  and  charge  the  rejection  of  them  on  luoral 
motives  ;  while  those  who  impute  such  bad  motives 
fairly  expose  themselves  to  the  retort,  that  their  own 
belief  may  be  dictated  by  other  considerations  than 
the  love  of  truth. 

Again,  in  such  inquiries  there  is  another  material 
distinction  very  commonly  lost  sight  of;  the  diffe- 
rence between  discussing  the  truth  of  a  conclusion,  or 
opinion,  and  the  mode  or  means  of  arriving  at  it ; 
or  the  arguments  by  which  it  is  supported.  Either 
may  clearly  be  impugned  or  upheld  without  impli- 
cating the  other.  We  may  have  the  best  evidence, 
but  draw  a  wrong  conclusion  from  it ;  or  we  may 
support  an  incontestible  truth  by  very  fallacious 
arguments. 

The  present  discussion  is  not  intended  to  be  of  a 
controversial  kind,  it  is  purely  contemphitive  and 
theoretical ;  it  is  rather  directed  to  a  calm  and*  un- 
prejudiced survey  of  the  various  opinions  and  argu- 
ments adduced,  whatever  may  be  their  ulterior  ten- 
dency, on  these  important  questions ;  and  to  the 
attempt  to  state,  analyse,  and  estimate  them  just  as 
they  may  seem  really  conducive  to  the  high  object 
professedly  in  view. 

The  idea  of  a  positive  external  Divine  revelatioii  ot 
some  kind  has  formed  the  very  basis  of  all  hitherto 


StuJj/  of  the  Ecidciices  of  Ckristianitij.         101 

received  systems  of  Christian  belief.  The  Romanist 
indeed  reerards  that  revelation  as  of  the  nature  of  a 
standing  oracle  acces^Me  m  the  living  voice  of  the 
Church  ;  which  being  infallible,  of  course  sufficiently 
accredits  all  the  doctrines  it  announces,  and  consti- 
tutes them  Divine.  A  more  modified  view  has  pre- 
vailed among  a  considerable  section  of  Anglican  theo- 
logians, who  ground  their  faith  on  the  same  principles 
of  Church  authority,  divested  of  its  divine  and  infal- 
lible character.  ]\Iost  Protestants,  with  more  or  less 
difference  of  meaning,  profess  to  regard  revelation  as 
once  for  all  announced,  long  since  finally  closed,  per- 
manently recorded,  and  accessible  only  in  the  written 
Divine  word  contained  in  the  Scriptures.  And  the 
discussion  with  those  outside  the  pale  of  belief  has 
been  entirely  one  as  to  the  validity  of  those  external 
marks  and  attestations  by  which  the  truth  of  the 
alleged  fact  of  such  communication  of  the  Divine  will, 
was  held  to  be  substantiated. 

The  scope  and  character  of  the  various  discussions 
raised  on  'the  evidences  of  religion,'  have  varied  much 
in  different  ag-es,  foUowino-  of  course  both  the  view 
adopted  of  revelation  itself,  the  nature  of  the  ob- 
jections which  for  the  time  seemed  most  prominent, 
or  most  necessary  to  be  combated,  and  stamped  wdth 
the  peculiar  intellectual  character,  and  reasoning  tone, 
of  the  age  to  which  they  belonged. 

The  early  apologists  were  rather  defenders  of  the 
Christian  cause  generall}^ ;  but  when  they  entered  on 
evidential  topics,  naturally  did  so  rather  in  accordance 
with  the  prevalent  modes  of  thought,  than  wdth  wdiat 
would  now  be  deemed  a  philosophic  investigation  of 
alleged  facts  and  critical  appreciation  of  testimony 
in  support  of  them. 

In  subsequent  ages,  as  the  increasing  claims  of 
infallible  Church  authority  gained  ground,  to  discuss 
evidence  became  superfluous,  and  even  dangerous  and 
impious ;   accordingly,   of  this   branch  of  theological 


102  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Cliristianiti/. 

literature  (unless  in  the  most  entire  subjection  to 
ecclesiastical  dictation)  the  medieval  church  presented 
hardly  any  specimens. 

It  was  not  perhaps  till  the  15th  century,  that  any 
works  bearing  the  character  of  what  are  now  called 
treatises  on  '  the  evidences'  appeared  ;  and  these  were 
probably  elicited  by  the  sceptical  spirit  which  had 
already  begun  to  show  itself,  arising  out  of  the  sub- 
tilties  of  the  schoolmen.^ 

But  in  modern  times,  and  under  Protestant  aus- 
pices, a  greater  disposition  to  follow  up  this  kind  of 
discussion  has  naturally  been  developed.  The  sterner 
-f  genius  of  Protestantism  required  definition,  argument, 
and  proof,  where  tlie  ancient  church  had  been  content 
to  impress  by  the  claims  of  authority,  veneration,  and 
prescription,  and  thus  left  the  conception  of  truth  to 
take  the  form  of  a  mere  impression  of  devotional  feel- 
ing or  exalted  imagination. 

Protestantism  sought  something  more  definite  and 
substantial,  and  its  demands  were  seconded  and  sup- 
ported, more  especially  by  the  spirit  of  metaphysical 
reasoning  which  so  widely  extended  itself  in  the  17th 
century,  even  into  the  domains  of  theology ;  and  di- 
vines, stirred  up  by  the  allegations  of  the  Deists,  aimed 
at  formal  refutations  of  their  objections,  b}^  drawing  out 
the  idea  and  the  proofs  of  revelation  into  systematic 
propositions  supported  by  logical  arguments.  In  that 
and  the  subsequent  period  the  same  general  style  of 
argument  on  these  topics  prevailed  among  the  advocates 
of  the  Christian  cause.  The  appeal  was  mainly  to  the 
miracles  of  the  Gospels,  and  here  it  was  contended  we 
Avant  merely  the  same  testimony  of  ej^e-witnesses 
which  would  suffice  to  substantiate  any  ordinary 
matter  of  fact :  accordingl}^,  the  narratives  were  to  be 
traced  to  writers  at  the  time,  who  were  either  them- 


^  Several  such  treatises  are  enumerated  and  described  by  Eichhorn.     See 
Hallam's  Lit.  of  Europe,  i.  p.  190- 


Stud^  of  the  E aide  noes  of  Christian  Ui/.  103 

selves  eye-witnesses,  or  recorded  the  testimony  of 
those  who  were  so,  and  the  direct  transmission  of  the 
evidence  being  thus  established,  everything  was  held 
to  be  demonstrated.  If  any  antecedent  question  was 
raised,  a  brief  reference  to  the  Divine  Omnipotence 
to  work  the  miracles,  and  to  the  Divine  goodness  to 
vouchsafe  the  revelation  and  confirm  it  by  such  proofs, 
was  all  that  could  be  required  to  silence  sceptical 
cavils. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  some  consideration  of  the 
internal  evidence  derived  from  the  excellence  of  the 
doctrines  and  morality  of  the  Grospel  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  discussion,  but  it  formed  only  a  subordinate 
branch  of  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  The  main 
and  essential  point  was  always  the  consideration  of 
external  facts,  and  the  attestations  of  testimony 
offered  in  support  of  them.  Assuming  Christianity  to 
be  essentially  connected  with  certain  outward  and  f 
sensible  events,  the  main  thing  to  be  inquired  into  and 
established,  was  the  historical  evidence  of  those  events, 
and  the  genuineness  of  the  records  of  them  ;  if  this 
were  satisfactorily  made  out,  then  it  was  considered 
the  object  was  accomplished.  The  external  facts 
simpl}^  substantiated,  the  intrinsic  doctrines  and 
declarations  of  the  Gospel  must  by  necessary  conse- 
quence be  Divine  truths. 

If  we  compare  the  general  tone,  character,  and  pre- 
tensions of  those  works  which,  in  our  schools  and 
colleges,  have  been  regarded  as  the  standard  autho- 
rities on  the  subject  of  'the  evidences,'  we  must 
acknowledge  a  great  change  in  the  taste  or  opinions 
of  the  times  from  the  commencement  of  the  last 
century  to  the  present  day ;  wdiich  has  led  the 
student  to  turn  from  the  erudite  folios  of  Jackson  and 
Stillingfleet,  or  the  more  condensed  arguments  of 
Clarke  On  the  Attributes,  Grotius  de  Veritate,  and 
Leslie's  Method  loith  the  Deists,  the  universal  text- 
books of  a  past  generation,  to  the  writings  of  Lardner 


p" 


104  Studij  of  the  Evidences  of  Chrldianity. 

and  Paley ;  the  latter  of  whom,  in  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century,  reigned  supreme,  the  acknow- 
ledged champion  of  revelation,  and  the  head  of  a 
school  to  which  numerous  others,  as  Campbell, 
Watson,  and  Douglas,  contributed  their  labours. 
But  more  recently,  these  authors  have  been  in  an 
eminent  degree  superseded,  by  a  recurrence  to  the 
once  comparatively  neglected  resources  furnished  by 
Bishop  Butler;  of  so  much  less  formal,  technical, 
and  positive  a  kind,  yet  offering  wider  and  more 
philosophical  views  of  the  subject ;  still,  however,  not 
supplyiug  altogether  that  comprehensive  discussion 
which  is  adapted  to  the  peculiar  tone  and  character  of 
thought  and  existing  state  of  knowledge  in  our  own 
times. 

The  state  of  opinion  and  information  in  different 
ages  is  peculiarly  shown  in  the  tone  and  character 
of  those  discussions  which  have  continually  arisen, 
affecting  the  grounds  of  religious  belief.  The  particu- 
lar species  of  difficulty  or  objection  in  the  reception 
of  Christianity,  and  especially  cf  its  external  manifes- 
tations, which  have  been  found  most  formidable,  have 
varied  greatly  in  different  ages  according  to  the  pre- 
valent modes  of  thought  and  the  character  of  the  do- 
minant philosophy.  Thus  the  dilhculties  with  re- 
spect to  miraculous  evidence  in  particular,  will  neces- 
sarily be  very  differently  viewed  in  different  stages  of 
philosophical  and  physical  information.  Difficulties 
in  the  idea  of  suspensions  of  natural  laws,  in  former 
ages  were  not  at  all  felt,  canvassed,  or  thought  of. 
But  in  later  times  they  have  assumed  a  much  deeper 
importance.  In  an  earlier  period  of  our  theological 
literature,  the  critical  investigation  of  the  question  of 
'miracles  was  a  point  scarcely  at  all  appreciated.  The 
attacks  of  the  Deists  of  the  lytli  and  early  part  of 
the  i8tli  century  were  almost  wholly  directed  to  other 
points.  But  the  speculations  of  Woolston,  and  still 
more  the  subsequent  influence  of  the  celebrated  Essay 


Stud^  of  fJie  Eoide})ces  of  Cliristianifi/.  105 

of  Hume,  liad  the  effect  of  directing  the  attention 
of  divines  more  pointedly  to  the  precise  topic  of  mi- 
raculous evidence  ;  and  to  these  causes  was  added  the 
agitation  of  the  question  of  the  ecclesiastical  miracles, 
giving  rise  to  the  semi-sceptical  discussions  of  Middle- 
ton,  which  called  forth  a  more  exact  spirit  of  examina- 
tion into  such  distinctions  as  were  needed  to  preserve 
the  miracles  of  the  Gospels  from  the  criticisms  applied 
to  those  of  the  Church.  This  distinction,  in  fact,  in- 
volves a  large  part  of  the  entire  question ;  and  to- 
wards marking  it  out  effectually,  various  precautionary 
rules  and  principles  were  laid  down  by  several  writers. 

Thus,  Bishop  Warburton  suggested  as  a  criterion 
the  necessity  of  the  miracles  to  the  ends  of  the  dis- 
pensation,^ which  he  conceived  answered  the  demands 
of  Middleton.  Bishop  Douglas  made  it  the  test — 
to  connect  miracles  with  inspiration  in  those  who 
wrought  them ;  this,  he  thought,  would  exclude  the 
miracles  of  the  Church.^  But  it  was  long  since  per- 
ceived that  the  argument  from  necessity  of  miracles  isj 
at  best  a  very  hazardous  one,  since  it  implies  the  y 
presumption  of  constituting  ourselves  judges  of  such 
necessity,  and  admits  the  fair  objection — when  were 
miracles  more  needed  than  at  the  present  day,  to 
indicate  the  truth  amid  manifold  error,  or  to  pro- 
pagate the  faith  ?  And  again,  in  the  other  case,  hov/ 
is  the  inspiration  to  be  ascertained  apart  from  the 
miracles  ?  or,  if  it  be,  what  is  the  use  of  the  miracles  ? 

In  fact,  in  proportion  as  external  evidence  to 
facts  is  made  the  professed  demand,  it  follows  that 
we  can  only  recur  to  those  grounds  and  rules  by 
which  the  intellect  always  proceeds  in  the  satis- 
factory investigation  of  any  questions  of  fact  and 
evidence,  especially  those  of  pkysical  phenomena. 
By  an  adherence  to  those  great  principles  on  which 


^  Div.  Leg.  ix.  5.  ^  Criterion,  pp.  239,  241. 


106         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christlaniti/. 

all  knowledge  is  acquired — by  a  reference  to  the 
fixed  laws  of  belief,  and  our  convictions  of  esta- 
blished order  and  analogy — we  estimate  the  credi- 
bility of  alleged  events  and  the  value  of  testimony, 
and  weigh  them  more  carefully  in  proportion  as  the 
matter  may  appear  of  greater  moment  or  difficulty. 

In  appreciating  the  evidence  for  ani/  events  of  a 
striking  or  wonderful  kind,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the 
extreme  difficulty  which  always  occurs  in  eliciting  the 
truth,  dependent  not  on  the  uncertainty  in  the  trans- 
mission of  testimony,  but  even  in  cases  where  we 
were  ourselves  witnesses,  on  the  enormous  influence 
exerted  by  our  prepossessions  previous  to  the  event, 
and  by  the  momentary  impressions  consequent  upon 
it.  We  look  at  all  events,  through  the  medium  of 
our  prejudices,  or  even  where  we  may  have  no  pre- 
possessions, the  more  sudden  and  remarkable  any  oc- 
currence may  be,  the  more  unprepared  we  are  to  judge 
of  it  accurately  or  to  view  it  calmly  ;  our  after  repre- 
sentations, especially  of  any  extraordinary  and  strik- 
ing event,  are  always  at  the  best  mere  recollections  of 
our  impressions,  of  ideas  dictated  by  our  emotions  at 
the  time  by  the  surprise  and  astonishment  which  the 
suddenness  and  hurry  of  the  occurrence  did  not  allow 
us  time  to  reduce  to  reason,  or  to  correct  by  the  sober 
standard  of  experience  or  philosophy. 

Questions  of  this  kind  are  often  perplexed  for  want 
of  due  attention  to  the  laws  of  human  thought  and 
belief,  and  of  due  distinction  in  ideas  and  terms.  The 
proj)osition  '  that  an  event  may  be  so  incredible  in- 
trinsically as  to  set  aside  any  degree  of  testimony,'  in 
no  wa}^  ap])lies  to  or  affects  the  honesty  or  veracity  of 
that  testimony,  or  the  reality  of  the  imjjressions  on  the 
minds  of  the  witnesses,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the 
matter  of  sensiUe  fact  simply.  It  merely  means  this  : 
that  from  the  nature  of  our  antecedent  convictions, 
the  probability  of  some  kind  of  mistake  or  deception 
somewhere,  though  we  know  not  ivhere,  is  greater  than 


Sfiu/j/  of  the  Evidences  of  CJiridianify.  107 

the  probability  of  the  event  really  happening  in  the 
way  and  from  the  causes  assigned. 

This  of  course  turns  on  the  general  grounds  of  our 
antecedent  convictions.  The  question  agitated  is  not 
that  of  mere  testimony,  of  its  value,  or  of  its  failures. 
It  refers  to  those  antecedent  considerations  which  must 
govern  our  entire  view  of  the  subject,  and  which  being 
dependent  on  higher  laws  of  belief,  must  be  paramount 
to  all  attestation,  or  rather  belong  to  a  province  dis- 
tinct from  it.  "WHiat  is  alleged  is  a  case  of  the  super- 
natural ;  but  no  testimony  can  reach  to  the  superna- 
tural ;  testimony  can  apply  only  to  apparent  sensible 
facts ;  testimony  can  only  prove  an  extraordinary  and 
perhaps  inexplical^le  occurrence  or  phenomenon :  that 
it  is  due  to  supernatural  causes  is  entirely  de- 
pendent on  the  previous  belief  and  assumptions  of 
the  parties. 

If  at  the  present  day  any  very  extraordinary  and 
unaccountable  fact  were  exhibited  before  the  eyes  of 
an  unbiassed,  educated,  well-informed  individual,  and 
supposing  all  suspicion  of  imposture  put  out  of  the 
question,  his  only  conclusion  would  be  that  it  was 
something  he  was  unable  at  present  to  explain  j  and 
if  at  all  versed  in  physical  studies,  he  would  not  for 
an  instant  doubt  either  that  it  was  really  due  to  some 
natural  cause,  or  that  if  properly  recorded  and  exa- 
mined, it  would  at  some  future  time  receive  its 
explanation  by  the  advance  of  discovery. 

It  is  thus  the  prevalent  conviction  that  at  the  pre- 
sent day  miracles  are  not  to  be  expected,  and  conse- 
quently alleged  marvels  are  commonly  discredited. 

But  as  exceptions  proving  the  rule,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  amid  the  general  scepticism,  instances 
sometimes  occur  of  particular  persons  and  parties 
who,  on  peculiar  grounds,  firmly  believe  in  the  occur- 
rence of  certain  miracles  even  in  our  own  times.  But 
we  invariably  find  that  this  is  only  in  connexion  with 
their  own  particular  tenets,  and  restricted  to  the  com- 


108  Stiidjj  of  the  Evidences  of  Clirisilanity. 

munion  to  wliicli  they  are  attached.  Such  manifesta- 
tions of  course  are  believed  to  have  a  religious  object, 
and  afford  to  the  votaries  a  strong  confirmation  of 
their  belief,  or  are  regarded  as  among  the  high  privi- 
leges vouchsafed  to  an  earnest  faith.  Yet  even  such 
persons,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  utterly  discredit 
all  such  wonders  alleged  as  occurring  within  the  pale 
of  any  religion  except  their  own  ;  while  those  of  other 
communions  as  unhesitatingly  reject  the  belief  in 
theirs. 

To  take  a  single  instance,  we  may  refer  to  the 
alleged  miraculous  '  tongues'  among  the  followers  of 
the  late  Mr.  Irving  some  years  ago.  It  is  not,  and 
was  not,  a  question  of  records  or  testimony,  or  fallibi- 
lity of  witnesses,  or  exaggerated  or  fabulous  narratives. 
At  the  time,  the  matter  was  closely  scrutinized  and 
inquired  into,  and  many  perfectly  unprejudiced,  and 
even  sceptical  persons,  themselves  witnessed  the  effects, 
and  were  fully  convinced,  as,  indeed,  were  most  candid 
inquirers  at  the  time,  that  after  all  reasonable  or 
possible  allowance  for  the  influence  of  delusion  or 
imposture,^  beyond  all  question  certain  extraordinary 
manifestations  did  occur.  But  just  as  little  as  the 
mere  fact  could  be  disputed,  did  any  sober-minded 
jDcrson,  except  those  immediately  interested,  or  influenced 
by  2^ccidiar  vieios,  for  a  moment  believe  those  effects  to 
be  miracidoiis.  Even  granting  that  they  could  not  be 
explained  by  any  known  form  of  nervous  affection,  or 
on  the  like  physiological  grounds,  still  that  the}'"  were 
in  some  way  to  be  ascribed  to  natural  causes,  as  yet 
perhaps  little  understood,  was  what  no  one  of  ordi- 
narily cultivated  mind,  or  dispassionate  judgment,  ever 
doubted. 

On  such  questions  we  can  only  hope  to  form  just 
and  legitimate  conclusions  from  an  extended  and  un- 
prejudiced study  of  the  laws  and  phenomena  of  the 
natural  world.  The  entire  range  of  the  inductive 
philosophy  is    at    once    based    upon,    and   in   every 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.         109 

instance  tends  to  confirm,  by  immense  accumula- 
tion of  evidence,  the  grand  truth  of  the  universal 
order  and  constancy  of  natural  causes,  as  a  primary 
law  of  belief;  so  strongly  entertained  and  fixed  in 
the  raind  of  every  truly  inductive  inquirer,  that  he 
cannot  even  conceive  the  possibility  of  its  failure. 
Yet  v^^e  sometimes  hear  language  of  a  different  kind. 
There  are  still  some  who  dwell  on  the  idea  of  Spinoza, 
and  contend  that  it  is  idle  to  object  to  miracles  as 
violations  of  natural  laws,  because  we  know  not  the 
extent  of  nature ;  that  all  inexplicable  phenomena 
are,  in  fact,  miracles,  or  at  any  rate,  mysteries ;  that 
we  are  surrounded  by  miracles  in  nature,  and  on  all 
sides  encounter  phenomena  which  baffle  our  attempts 
at  explanation,  and  limit  the  powers  of  scientific  in- 
vestigation ;  phenomena  whose  causes  or  nature  we  are 
not,  and  probably  never  shall  be,  able  to  explain. 

Such  are  the  arguments  of  those  who  have  failed 
to  grasp  the  positive  scientific  idea  of  the  power  of 
the  inductive  philosophy,  or  the  order  of  nature.  The 
boundaries  of  nature  exist  only  where  our  present 
knowledge  places  them  ;  the  discoveries  of  to-morrow 
will  alter  and  enlarge  them.  The  inevitable  progress 
of  research  must,  within  a  longer  or  shorter  period, 
unravel  all  that  seems  most  marvellous,  and  what  is 
at  present  least  understood  will  become  as  familiarly 
known  to  the  science  of  the  future,  as  those  points 
which  a  few  centuries  ago  were  involved  in  equal 
obscurity,  but  are  now  thoroughly  understood. 

None  of  these,  or  the  like  instances,  are  at  all  of 
the  same  kind,  or  have  any  characteristics  in  common 
with  the  idea  of  what  is  implied  by  the  term  '  miracle,' 
which  is  asserted  to  mean  something  at  variance  with 
nature  and  law  ;  there  is  not  the  slightest  analogy 
between  an  unknown  or  inexplicable  phenomenon,  and 
a  supposed  suspension  of  a  known  law  :  even  an  ex- 
ceptional case  of  a  known  law  is  included  in  some 
larger  law.     Arbitrary  interposition  is  wholly  different 


110         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianiti/. 

in  kind ;  no  argument  from  tlie  one  can  app]}'^  to  the 
other. 

The  enlarged  critical  and  inductive  study  of  the 
natural  world,  cannot  but  tend  powerfully  to  evince 
the  inconceivableness  of  imagined  interruptions  of 
natural  order,  or  supposed  suspensions  of  the  laws  of 
matter,  and  of  that  vast  series  of  dependent  causation 
which  constitutes  the  legitimate  field  for  the  investi- 
gation of  science,  whose  constancy  is  the  sole  warrant 
for  its  generalizations,  while  it  forms  the  substantial 
basis  for  the  grand  conclusions  of  natural  theology. 
Such  would  be  the  grounds  on  which  our  convictions 
would  be  regulated  as  to  marvellous  events  at  t/ie present 
day ;  such  the  rules  which  we  should  apply  to  the  like 
cases  narrated  in  ordinary  history. 

But  though,  perhaps,  the  more  general  admission 
at  the  present  day  of  critical  principles  in  the  study  of 
history,  as  well  as  the  extension  of  physical  knowledge, 
has  done  something  to  diffuse  among  the  better  in- 
formed class  more  enlightened  notions  on  this  subject, 
taken  abstractedly,  yet  they  may  be  still  much  at  a 
loss  to  apply  such  principles  in  all  cases  :  and  readily 
conceive  that  there  are  possible  instances  in  which 
large  exceptions  must  be  made. 

The  above  remarks  may  be  admitted  in  respect  to 
events  at  the  present  day  and  those  narrated  in  ordinary 
history ;  but  it  will  be  said  there  may  be,  and  there 
are,  cases  which  are  7iot  like  those  of  the  present  times 
nor  of  ordinary  history. 

Thus,  if  we  attempt  any  uncompromising,  rigid 
scrutiny  of  the  Christian  miracles,  on  the  same  grounds 
on  which  we  should  investigate  any  ordinary  narrative 
of  the  supernatural  or  marvellous,  we  are  stopped  hj 
tlie  admonition  not  to  make  an  irreverent  and  pro- 
iane  intrusion  into  what  ought  to  be  held  sacred  and 
exempt  from  such  unhallowed  criticism  of  human 
reason. 

Yet  the  champions  of  the  '  Evidences'  of  Chris- 
tianity have  professedly  rested  the  discussion  of  the 


study  of  the  Evidences  of  Cliridlanity.  Ill 

miracles  of  tlie  New  Testament  on  tlie  ground  of 
precise  evidence  of  witnesses,  insisting  on  tlie  liis- 
torical  character  of  the  Gospel  records,  and  urging  the 
investigation  of  the  truth  of  the  facts  on  the  strict 
principles  of  criticism,  as  they  would  be  applied  to  any 
other  historical  narrative.  On  these  grounds,  it  would 
seem  impossible  to  exempt  the  miraculous  parts  of 
those  narratives,  from  such  considerations  as  those 
which  must  be  resorted  to  in  regard  to  marvellous  or 
supposed  supernatural  events  in  general.  Yet  there 
seems  an  unwillingness  to  concede  the  propriety  of 
such  examination,  and  a  disposition  to  regard  this  as 
altogether  an  ejcceptlonal  case.  But  in  proportion  as 
it  is  so  regarded,  it  must  be  remembered  its  strictly 
historical  character  is  forfeited,  or  at  least  tampered 
with ;  and  those  who  would  shield  it  from  the  criti- 
cisms to  which  history  and  fact  are  necessarily  ame- 
nable, cannot  in  consistency  be  offended  at  the  alter- 
native involved,  of  a  more  or  less  mythical  interpre- 
tation. 

In  history  generally  our  attention  is  often  called  to 
narratives  of  the  marvellous :  and  there  is  a  sense  in 
which  they  may  be  viewed  with  reference  to  its  general 
purport  and  in  connexion  with  those  influences  on 
human  nature  which  play  so  conspicuous  a  part  in 
many  events.  Thus  it  has  been  well  remarked  by 
Dean  Milraan — '  History  to  be  true  must  condescend 
to  speak  the  language  of  legend ;  the  belief  of  the 
times  is  part  of  the  record  of  the  times  ;  and  though 
there  may  occur  what  may  baffle  its  more  calm  and 
searching  philosophy,  it  must  not  disdain  that  whicli 
was  the  primal,  almost  universal  motive  of  human  life.'' 

Yet  in  a  more  general  point  of  view,  when  we  con- 
sider the  strict  office  of  the  critical  historian,  it  is 
obvious  that  such  cases  are  fair  subjects  of  analysis, 
conducted  with  the  view  of  ascertaining  their  real 
relation  to  nature  and  fact. 


^  Latin  Christianity,  vol.  i.  p.  388. 


112         Sfuclj/  of  tlte  Evidences  of  Cluistianity. 

From  tlie  general  maxim  that  all  history  is  open  to 
criticism  as  to  its  grounds  of  evidence,  no  professed 
Idsiory  can  be  exempt  without  forfeiting  its  hisforical 
cliaracter ;  and  in  its  contents,  what  is  properly 
historical,  is,  on  the  same  grounds,  fairly  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  what  may  appear  to  be  introduced 
on  other  authority  and  with  other  objects.  Thus,  the 
general  credit  of  an  historical  narrative  does  not  exclude 
the  distinct  scrutiny  into  any  statements  of  a  super- 
natural kind  which  it  may  contain  ;  nor  supersede  the 
careful  estimation  of  the  value  of  the  testimony  on 
which  they  rest — the  directness  of  its  transmission  from 
eye-witnesses,  as  well  as  the  possibility  of  misconcep- 
tion of  its  tenor,  or  of  our  not  being  in  possession  of 
all  the  circumstances  on  which  a  correct  judgment  can 
be  formed. 

It  must,  however,  be  confessed  that  the  propriety 
of  such  dispassionate  examination  is  too  little  appre- 
ciated, or  the  fairness  of  weighing  well  the  impro- 
babilities on  one  side,  against  possible  openings  to 
misapprehension  on  the  other. 

The  nature  of  the  laws  of  all  human  belief,  and  the 
broader  grounds  of  probability  and  credibility  of  events, 
have  been  too  little  investigated,  and  the  great  extent 
to  which  all  testimony  must  be  modified  by  antecedent 
credibility  as  determined  by  such  general  laws,  too  little 
commonly  understood  to  be  readily  applied  or  allowed. 

Formerly  (as  before  observed)  there  was  no  question 
as  to  general  credibility.  But  in  later  times  the 
most  orthodox  seem  to  assume  that  interposition 
would  be  (jeneralli/  incredible ;  yet  endeavour  to  lay 
down  rules  and  criteria  by  which  it  may  be  rendered 
probable,  in  cases  of  great  emergency.  Miracles  were 
formerly  the  ride,  latterly  the  exception.. 

The  arguments  of  Middleton  and  others,  all  assume 
the  antecedent  incredibility  of  miracles  in  general,  in 
order  to   draw  more  precisely  the  distinction  that  in'« 
certain  cases  of  a  very  special  nature  that  improbability 


Stiidij  of  the  Evidences  of  Christ ianifi/.  113 

may  be  removed,  as  in  the  case  of  authenticating  a 
revelation.  Locke^  expressly  contends  that  it  is  the 
very  extraordinary^  nature  of  such  an  emergency  which 
renders  an  extraordinary  interposition  requisite  and 
therefore  credible. 

The  belief  in  Divine  interposition  must  be  essen- 
tially dependent  on  what  we  2^remously  admit  or 
believe  with  respect  to  the  Divine  attributes.  It 
was  formerly  argued  that  every  Tlieist  must  admit 
the  credibility  of  miracles ;  but  this  it  is  now  seen, 
depends  on  the  nature  and  det/ree  of  his  Theism, 
which  may  vary  through  many  shades  of  opinion. 
It  depends,  in  fact,  on  the  precise  view  taken  of  the 
Divine  attributes ;  such,  of  course,  as  is  attainable 
prior  to  our  admission  of  revelation,  or  we  fall  into  an 
argument  in  a  vicious  circle.  The  older  writers  on 
natural  theology,  indeed,  have  professed  to  deduce 
very  exact  conclusions  as  to  the  Divine  perfections, 
especially  Omnipotence ;  conclusions  which,  according 
to  the  physical  argument  already  referred  to,  appear 
carried  beyond  those  limits  to  which  reason  or  science 
are  competent  to  lead  us  ;  while,  in  fact,  all  our  higher 
and  more  precise  ideas  of  the  Divine  perfections  are 
reall}^  derived  from  that  verj^  revelation,  whose  evidence 
is  the  point  in  question.  The  Divine  Omnipotence  is 
entirely  an  inference  from  the  language  of  the  Bible, 
adopted  on  the  assumjjtion  of  a  belief  in  revelation. 
That  '  with  God  nothing  is  impossible,'  is  the  very 
declaration  of  Scripture  ;  yet  on  this  the  whole  belief 
in  miracles  is  built,  and  thus,  with  the  man}^,  that 
belief  is  wholly  the  result,  not  the  antecedent  of  faith. 

But  were  these  views  of  the  Divine  attributes,  on 
the  other  hand,  ever  so  well  established,  it  must  be 
considered  that  the  Theistic  argument  requires  to  be 
applied  with  much  caution ;  since  most  of  those  who 
have  adopted  such,  theories  of  the  Divine  perfections 


1  Essay,  Book  iv.  cli.  xvi.  §  13. 
I 


114  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  ChnstianUy. 

on  abstract  grounds,  have  made  them  the  basis  of  a 
precisely  opposite  belief,  rejecting  miracles  altogether; 
on  the  plea,  that  our  ideas  of  the  Divine  perfections 
must  directly  discredit  the  notion  of  occasional  inter- 
position ;  that  it  is  derogatory  to  the  idea  of  Infinite 
power  and  wisdom,  to  suppose  an  order  of  things  so 
imperfectly  established  that  it  must  be  occasionally 
interrupted  and  violated  when  the  necessity  of  the 
case  compelled,  as  the  emergency  of  a  revelation  was 
imagined  to  do.  All  such  Theistic  reasonings,  in 
fact,  if  pushed  to  their  consequences,  must  lead  to  a 
denial  of  all  active  operation  of  the  Deity  whatever  ; 
as  inconsistent  with  unchangeable,  infinite  perfection.^ 
Such  are  the  arguments  of  Theodore  Park er,^  who  denies 
miracles  because  '  everywhere  I  find  law  the  constant 
mode  of  operation  of  an  i-npnite  God,  or  that  of  Weg- 
scheider,^  that  the  belief  in  miracles  is  irreconcileable 
witli  the  idea  of  an  eternal  God  consistent  loith  himself,  &c. 

Paley's  grand  resource  is  '  once  believe  in  a  Grod,  and 
all  is  easy.'  Now,  no  men  have  evinced  a  more  deep- 
seated  and  devout  belief  in  the  Divine  perfections  than 
the  writers  just  named,  or  others  differing  from  them  by 
various  shades  of  opinion,  as  the  late  J.  Sterling,  Mr. 
Emerson,  and  Professor  F.  W.  Newman.  Yet  these 
writers  have  agreed  in  the  inference  that  the  entire  view 
of  Theistic  principles,  in  their  highest  spiritual  purity, 
is  utterly  at  variance  with  all  conception  of  suspensions 
of  the  laws  of  nature,  or  with  the  idea  of  any  kind  of 
external  manifestation  addressed  to  the  senses,  as  over- 
ruling the  higher,  and,  as  they  conceive,  sole  worthy  and 
fittino',  convictions  of  moral  senseandrelio-ious  intuition. 

We  here  speak  impartially  and,  disinterestedly,  since 
we  are  far  from  agreeing  in  their  reasonings,  or  even 


^  See  Mansel,  Bampt.  Led.  p.  185. 

^  Theism,  &c.  p.  263,  comp.  p.  223. 
3  '  Persuasio  de  supernaturali   et  iniraculossa  eademque  immediata  Dei 
revelatione,  baud  bene  conciliari  videtur   cum    idea  Dei   jeterni,  semper 
sibi  constantis,  &c.' — Wegscbeider,  Instit.  Theol.  §  12. 


StiaJj/  of  the  Evidences  of  CJirislianif^.  115 

in  their  first  principles.  But  we  think  it  deeply  incum- 
bent on  all  who  would  fairly  reason  out  the  case  of 
miraculous  evidence  at  the  present  day,  to  give  a  full 
and  patient  discussion  to  this  entire  class  of  arguments 
which  now  command  so  many  adherents. 

In  advancing  from  the  argument/or  miracles  to  the 
argument /y'<9///  miracles  ;  it  should,  in  the  first  instance, 
be  considered  that  the  evidential  force  of  miracles  (to 
whatever  it  may  amount)  is  wholly  relative  to  the 
apprehensions  of  the  parties  addressed. 

Thus,  in  an  '  evidential '  point  of  view,  it  by  no 
means  follows,  supposing  we  at  this  day  were  able 
to  explain  what  in  an  ignorant  age  was  regarded  as 
a  miracle,  that  therefore  that  event  was  not  equally 
evidential  to  those  immediately  addressed.  Columbus's 
prediction  of  the  eclipse  to  the  native  islanders  was 
as  true  an  argument  to  them  as  if  the  event  had  really 
been  supernatural. 

It  is  a  consideration  adopted  by  some  eminent 
divines  that  in  the  very  language  of  the  Grospels  the 
distinction  is  always  kept  up  between  mere  '  wonders  ' 
{rtpaTo)  and  '  miracles'  or  '  signs'  {arjinHa) ;  that  is  to 
say,  the  latter  were  occurrences  not  viewed  as  mere 
matters  of  wonder  or  astonishment,  but  regarded  as 
indications  of  other  truths,  specially  adapted  to  con- 
vince those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  in  tlie:r 
existing  stage  of  enlightenment. 

Archbishop  Whately,  besides  dwelling  on  this  dis- 
tinction, argues  that  '  the  apostles  w^ould  not  only 
not  have  been  believed  but  not  even  listened  to,  if 
they  had  not  first  roused  mens  attention  by  working, 
as  we  are  told  they  did,  special  (remarkable)  miracles.'^ 
(Acts  xix.  II.) 

Some  have  gone  further,  and  have  considered  the 
application  of  miracles  as  little  more  than  is  expressed 
in   the    ancient  proverb,   '  %avnaTa  /xwpotc' — which  is 


^  Lessons  on  Evidences,  vii.  §  5. 

1  a 


116  Studj/  of  (lie  Evidences  of  ClinsiianUy. 

supposed  to  be  nearly  equivalent  to  the  rebuke,  'an 
evil  generation  seeketh  a  sign,  &c.'^     (Matt.  xii.  38.) 

Schleiermaclier  regards  the  miracles  as  onlyrelatively 
or  apparently  sucli,  to  the  apprehensions  of  the  age. 
By  the  Jews  we  know  such  manifestations,  especially 
the  power  of  liealiug,  were  held  to  constitute  the  dis- 
tinctive marks  of  the  Messiah,  according  to  the  pro- 
phecies of  their  Scriptures.  Signs  of  an  improper  or 
irrelevant  kind  were  refused,  and  even  those  which 
were  granted  were  not  necessarily  nor  universally  con- 
clusive. With  some  they  were  so,  but  with  the  many 
the  case  was  diflerent.  The  Pharisees  set  down  the 
miracles  of  Christ  to  the  power  of  evil  spirits ;  and 
in  other  cases  no  conviction^  was  produced,  not  even 
on  the  apostles.^  Even  Nicodemus,  notwithstanding 
his  logical  reasoning,  was  but  half  convinced.  While 
Jesus  himself,  especially  to  His  disciples  in  private,  re- 
ferred to  His  works  as  only  secondary  and  subsidiary 
to  the  higher  evidence  of  His  character  and  doctrine,'* 
which  was  so  conspicuous  and  convincing  even  to  His 
enemies  as  to  draw  forth  the  admission,  '  Never  man 
spake  like  this  man.' 

The  later  Jews  adopted  the  strange  legend  of  the 
'  SepJier  Tohlelh  YeJisu '  (Book  of  the  Generation  of 
Jesus),  which  describes  His  miracles  substantially  as 
in  the  Gospels,  but  says  that  he  obtained  his  power 
by  hiding  himself  in  the  Temple,  and  possessing  him- 
self of  the  secret  inefiable  name,  by  virtue  of  which 
sucli  wonders  could  be  wrought.^ 


^  Letter  and  Spirit,  by  Rev.  J.  Wilson,  1852,  p.  21. 

2  As  e.g.  John  xi.  46;  vi.  2-30 ;  Matt.  xii.  39. 

^  Matt.  xvi.  9;  Luke  xxiv.  21-25.  *  John  xiv.  11. 

*  Orobio,  a  Jewish  writer,  quoted  by  Limborch  {De  Verit.  p.  12-156), 
observes  : — '  Non  crediderunt  Judrei  non  quia  opera  ilhi  quic  in  Evanc^elio 
narrantur  a  Jesu  facta  esse  negabant ;  sed  quia  iis  se  persuaderi  non  sunt 
passi  ut  Jesum  crederent  Messiam.'  Celsus  ascribed  the  Cliristian  mira- 
cles to  magic  (Origen  cont.  Cels.  i.  38;  ii.  9,)  as  Julian  did  those  of 
St.  Paul  to  superior  knowledge  of  nature.  (^/>.  Ct/r.  iii.  100.)  The 
general  charge  of  magic  is  noticed  by  Tertullian,  Ap.  23.  See  also  Dean 
Lyall,  Frojiccdia  rruphetica,  439.     Neander,  Hist.  i.  67. 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianiti/.         117 

All  moral  evidence  must  essentially  liave  respect  to 
the  parties  to  be  convinced.    *  Signs'  might  be  adapted 
peculiarly  to  the  state  of  moral  or  intellectual  progress    "^ 
of  one  age,  or  one  class  of  persons,  and  not  be  suited 
to  that  of  others.      With  the  contemporaries  of  Christ 
and  the  Apostles,  it  was  not  a  question  of  testimony 
or  credibility ;  it  was  not  the  mere  occurrence  of  what 
they  all  regarded  as  a  supernatural  event,  as  such,  but*- 
the  particular  character  to  be  assigned  to  it,  which  was 
the  point  in  question.     And  it  is   to  the  entire  dif- 
ference in  the  ideas,  prepossessions,  modes,  and  grounds 
of  belief  in  those  times  that  we  may  trace  the  reason 
why  miracles,  which  would  be  incredible  7Wto,  were  not 
so  in  the  age  and  under  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  are  stated  to  have  occurred. 

The  force  and  function  of  all  moral  evidence  is 
nullified  and  destroyed  if  we  seek  to  apply  that  kind  < 
of  argument  which  does  not  find  a  response  in  the 
previous  views  or  impressions  of  the  individual  ad- 
dressed ;  all  evidential  reasoning  is  essentially  an 
adaptation  to  the  conditions  of  mind  and  thought  of 
the  parties  addressed,  or  it  fails  in  its  object.  An 
evidential  appeal  which  in  a  long  past  age  was  con- 
vincing as  made  to  the  state  of  knowledge  in  that  age, 
might  have  not  only  no  effect,  but  even  an  injurious 
tendency,  if  urged  in  the  present,  and  referring  to  what 
is  at  variance  with  existing  scientific  conceptions  ;  just 
as  the  arguments  of  the  present  age  would  have  been 
unintelligible  to  a  former. 

In  his  earlier  views  of  miracles  Dr.  J.  H.  Newman^ 
maintained  (agreeing  therein  with  Paulus  and  Eosen-    , 
miiller,)   that    most  of   the  Christian  miracles   could  J 
only  be  evidential  at  the  time  they  Avere  wrought,  and 
are  not   so  at   present,  a  view   in   which  a  religious 
writer  of  a  very  diff'erent  school,  Athanase  Coquerel,^ 


^  Essay  on  Miracles,  &c.  p.  107. 

Christianity,  &c.    Davibou's  tratisl.  1847,  p.  226. 


118  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Cliristianity . 

seems  to  concur,  alleging  tliat  they  can  avail  onl}^  in 
founding  a  faith — not  in  preserving  it. 

This  was  also  the  argument  of  several  of  the 
Eeformers,  as  Luther,  Huss,  and  others^  have  reason- 
ably contemplated  the  miracles  as  a  part  of  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  first  outward  manifestation  and  deve- 
lopment of  Christianity  ;  like  all  other  portions  of  the 
Divine  dispensations  specially  adapted  to  the  age  and 
the  condition  of  those  to  whom  they  were  immediately 
addressed :  but  restricted  apparently  to  those  ages, 
and,  at  any  rate,  not  continued  in  the  same  form  to 
subsequent  times,  when  the  application  of  them  would 
be  inappropriate. 

The  force  of  the  appeal  to  miracles  must  ever  be 
^  essentially  dependent  on  the  preconceptions  of  the 
parties  addressed.  Yet  even  in  an  age,  or  among  a 
people,  entertaining  an  indiscriminate  belief  in  the 
supernatural,  the  allegation  of  particular  miracles  as 
evidential  may  be  altogether  vain  ;  the  very  extent 
of  their  belief  may  render  it  ineffective  in  furnishing 
proofs  to  authenticate  the  communications  of  any 
teacher  as  a  Divine  message.  The  constant  belief  in 
the  miraculous  may  neutralize  all  evidential  distinc- 
tions which  it  may  be  attempted  to  deduce.  Of  this  we 
have  a  striking  instance  on  record,  in  the  labours  of 
the  missionary,  Henry  Martyn,  among  the  Persian 
Mahometans.  They  believed  readily  all  that  he  told 
them  of  the  Scripture  miracles,  but  directly  paralleled 
them  by  wonders  of  their  own ;  they  were  proof 
against  any  argument  from  the  resurrection,  because 
they  held  that  their  own  Sheiks  had  the  power  of 
raising  the  dead. 

It  is  also  stated  that  the  later  Jewish  Eabbis,  on 
the  same  plea  that  miracles  were  believed  to  be 
wrought  by  so  many  teachers,  of  the  most  different 
doctrines,  denied  their  evidential  force  altogether.^ 

'  See  Seckendorf's  Hist.  Luther,  iii.  633., 
2  For  some  instauces  of  this  class  of  objections,  see  Dean  Lyall's  Tro- 
pcedia  Prophetica,  p.  437  et  seq. 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  119 

By  those  wlio  take  a  more  enlarged  survey  of  the 
subject,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  remarked  how  ditierent  has 
been  the  spirit  in  which  miracles  were  contemplated 
as  they  are  exhibited  to  us  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
ecclesiastical  literature,  from  that  in  which  they  have 
been  regarded  in  modern  times  ;  and  this  especially 
in  respect  to  that  particular  view  which  has  so  inti- 
mately (jonnected  them  with  precise  '  evidential  argu- 
ments ;'  and  by  a  school  of  writers,  of  whom  Paley 
may  be  taken  as  the  type,  and  who  regard  them  as 
the  sole  external  proof  and  certificate  of  a  Divine 
revelation. 

But  at  the  present  day  this  '  evidential'  view  of 
miracles  as  the  sole  or  even  the  principal  external 
attestation  to  the  claims  of  a  Divine  revelation,  is  a  , 
species  of  reasoning  which  appears  to  have  lost  ground,  '■<' 
even  among  the  most  earnest  advocates  of  Christi- 
anity. It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  Paley  took 
too  exclusive  a  view  in  asserting  that  we  cannot  con- 
ceive a  revelation  substantiated  in  any  other  way. 
And  it  has  been  even  more  directly  asserted  by  some 
zealous  supporters  of  Christian  doctrine,  that  the 
external  evidences  are  altogether  inappropriate  and 
worthless. 

Thus  by  a  school  of  writers  of  the  most  highly 
orthodox  pretensions,  it  is  elaborately  argued,  to  the 
effect,  that  revelation  ought  to  be  believed  though 
destitute  of  strict  evidence,  either  internal  or  external  j  V 
and  though  we  neither  see  it  nor  know  it.^  And  again, 
'  We  must  be  as  sure  that  the  Bishop  is  Christ's 
appointed  representative,  as  if  we  actually  saw  him 
work  miracles  as  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  did.'^  An- 
other writer  of  the  same  school  exclaims,  '  As  if  evi- 
dence to  the  "Word  of  God  were  a  thing  to  be  tolerated 
by  a  Christian ;  except  as  an  additional  condemnation 
for  those  who  reject  it,  or  as  a  sort  of  exercise  and  in- 

>  See  Tracts  for  the  Times,  No.  Ixxxv.  pp.  8^-100. 
2  Tract  ISIo.  X.  p.  4. 


120  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianiti/. 

dulgeiice  or  a  Christian  unclerstancling.'^  Tims  wliile 
the  highest  section  of  Anglican  orthodoxy  does  not 
hesitate  openly  to  disavow  the  old  evidential  argu- 
ment ;  referring  everything  to  the  authority  of  the 
Church,  the  more  moderate  virtually  discredit  it  hy 
a  general  tone  of  vacillation  between  the  antagonistic 
claims  of  reason  and  faith  ;• — intuition  and  evidence; — 
while  the  extreme  '  evangelical'  school,  strongly  as- 
serting the  literal  truth  of  the  Bible,  seeks  its  evidence 
wholly  in  spiritual  impressions,  regarding  all  exercise 
of  the  reason  as  partaking  in  the  nature  of  sin.  But 
even  among  less  prejudiced  thinkers,  we  find  indica- 
tions of  similar  views  ;'-^  thus  a  very  able  critic  writing 
in  express  defence  of  the  Christian  cause,  speaks  of 
*  that  accumulation  of  historical  testimonies,'  '  which 
the  last  age  erroneously  denominated  the  evidences  of 
Christianity.'  And  the  poet  Coleridge,  than  whom  no 
writer  has  been  more  earnest  in  upholding  and 
defending  Christianity,  even  in  its  most  orthodox 
form,  in  speaking  of  its  external  attestations,  impa- 
tiently^ exclaims,  '  Evidences  of  Christianity  !  I  am 
weary  of  the  word  :  make  a  man  feel  the  want  of  it 
.  .  .  and  you  may  safely  trust  it  to  its  own  evidence.'^ 
But  still  further :  Paley's  well-known  conclusion  to 
the  5th  book  of  his  j\foral  Pldlosophij,  pronounced  by 
Dr.  Parr  to  be  the  finest  prose  passage  in  English 
literature,  more  especially  his  final  summing  up  of 
the  evidential  argument  in  the  words,  '  He  alone  dis- 
covers who  proves  :  and  no  man  can  prove  this  point 
(a  future  retribution),  but  the  teacher  who  testifies  by 
miracles  that  his  doctrine  comes  from  God,' — calls  forth 
from  Coleridge  an  emphatic  protest  against  the  entire 
principle,  as  being  at  variance  with  that  moral  election 
which  he  would  make  the  essential  basis  of  religious 


British  Critic,  No.  xlviii.  p.  304. 

Edin.  Rev.  No.  cxli. 

Aids  to  Re/iexion,  i.  p.  333. 


StucI^  of  the  Evidences  of  Chndianify.         121 

belief;^  to  which  he  adds,  m  another  phice,  'The 
cordial  admiration  with  which  I  peruse  the  pre- 
ceding passage  as  a  masterpiece  of  composition 
Avoukl,  coukl  I  convey  it,  serve  as  a  measure  of  the 
vital  importance  I  attach  to  the  convictions  which 
impelled  me  to  animadvert  on  the  same  passage  as 
doctrine.'^ 

Some  of  the  most  strenuous  assertors  of  miracles 
have  been  foremost  to  disclaim  the  notion  of  their 
being  the  sole  certificaie  of  Divine  communication,  and 
have  maintained  that  the  true  force  of  the  Christian 
evidences  lies  in  the  union  and  comhination  of  the 
external  testimony  of  miracles,  with  the  internal  ex- 
cellence of  the  doctrine;  thus,  in  fact,  practically 
making  the  latter  the  real  test  of  the  admissibility  of  the 
former. 

The  necessity  for  such  a  combination  of  the  evi- 
dence of  miracles  with  the  test  of  the  doctrine  in- 
culcated is  acknowledged  in  the  Bible,  both  under 
the  old  and  the  new  dispensations.  We  read  of  false 
prophets  who  might  predict  signs  and  wonders,  which 
might  come  to  pass ;  but  this  was  to  be  of  no  avail  if 
they  led  their  hearers  '  after  other  gods.'^ 

In  like  manner,  '  if  an  angel  from  heaven'  preached 
any  other  gospel  to  the  Gakitians,  they  were  to  reject 
it>  And  even  accordino;  to  Christ's  own  admonitions, 
false  Christs  and  false  prophets  should  show  signs  and 
wonders  such  as  might  '  deceive,  if  possible,  the  very 
elect. '^ 

According  to  this  view,  the  main  ground  of  the 
admissibility  of  external  attestations  is  the  worthiness 
of  their  object — the  doctrine  ;  its  un worthiness  will 
discredit  even  the  most  distinctly  alleged  apparent  mi- 
racles, and  such  worthiness  or  unworthiness  appeals 
solely  to  our  moral  judgment. 


7^ 


*  Aids  to  Reflexion,  p.  278.  ^  lb.  p.  338. 

'  Deut.  xiii.  i.  *  Gal.  i.  8.  ^  Matt.  :;^xiv.  24. 


122  Studi/  of  the  Evidences  of  CUridianity. 

No  man  has  dwelt  more  forcibly  on  miraculous 
evidence  than  Archbishop  Whately  ;  yet  in  relation 
to  tlie  character  of  Christ  as  conspiring  with  the  ex- 
ternal attestations  of  his  mission,  he  strongly  remarks 
(speaking  of  some  who  would  ascribe  to  Christ  an 
unworthy  doctrine,  an  equivocal  mode  of  teaching), 
'  If  I  could  believe  Jesus  to  have  been  guilty  of  such 

subterfuges I  not  only  could  not 

acknowledge  him  as  sent  from  God,  but  should  reject 
him  with  the  deepest  moral  indignation.'^ 

Dean  Lyall  enters  largely  into  this  important  qua- 
lification in  his  defence  of  the  miraculous  argument, 
applying  it  in  the  most  unreserved  manner  to  the 
ecclesiastical  miracles,^  which  he  rejects  at  once  as 
having  no  connexion  with  doctrine.  We  have  also 
on  record  the  remark  of  Dr.  Johnson  : — '  Why,  sir, 
Bume,  taking  the  proposition  simply,  is  right;  but 
the  Christian  revelation  is  not  proved  b}"  miracles 
J  alone,  but  as  connected  Avitli  prophecies  and  with 
the  doctrines  in  confirmation  of  which  miracles  were 
wrought.'^ 

This  has,  indeed,  been  the  common  argument  of 
the  most  approved  divines  :  it  is  that  long  ago  urged 
b}^  Dr.  S.  Clarke,^  and  recently  supported  by  Dean 
Trench.^  Yet  what  is  it  but  to  acknowledge  the 
right  of  an  appeal,  superior  to  that  of  all  miracles, 
to  our  own  moral  tribunal,  to  the  principle  that 
'  the  human  mind  is  competent  to  sit  in  moral  and 
spiritual  judgment  on  a  professed  revelation,'  in  vir- 
tue of  which  Professor  F.  W.  Newman,  as  well  as  many 
other  inquirers,  have  come  to  so  very  oj^posite  a  con- 
clusion. 

Again,  it  has  been    strongly  urged    by  the  last- 


'  Kingdom  of  Christ,  Essay  i.  §  12. 

'  Fr'opadia  Prophetica,  p.  441. 

"  Boswell's  Life,  iii.  169.     Ed.  1826. 

*  Evidences  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion,  §  xiv. 

*  Notes  on  Miracles,  p.  27. 


^tucly  of  the  EoiJenccs  of  Christianity.  123 

named  writer,  if  niiracles  are  made  the  sole  criterion, 
then  amid  the  various  difficulties  attending  the  scru- 
tiny of  evidence,  and  the  detection  of  imposture,  an 
advantage  is  clearly  given  to  the  shrcAvd  sceptic  over 
the  simple-minded  and  well-disposed  disciple,  utterly 
fatal  to  the  purity  of  faith/ 

The  view  of  miraculous  evidence  which  allows  it  to 
be  taken  only  in  connexion  with,  and  in  fact  in  sub- 
serviency to,  the  moral  and  internal  proof  derived  from 
the  character  of  the  doctrine,  has  been  pushed  to  a 
greater  extent  by  the  writer  last  named ;  who  asks, 
What  is  the  value  of  '  faith  at  second  hand  ?' — Ought 
anjr  external  testimony  to  overrule  internal  conviction  ? 
Ought  any  wora/ truth  to  be  received  in  mere  obedience 
to  a  miracle  of  se}t!<e  /^  and  observes  that  a  miracle  can 
only  address  itself  to  our  external  senses,  and  that 
internal  and  moral  impressions  must  be  deemed  of  a  kind 
paramount  to  external  and  sensible. 

If  it  be  alleged  that  this  internal  sense  may  be 
delusive,  not  less  so,  it  is  replied,  may  the  external 
senses  deceive  us  as  to  the  world  of  sense  and  external 
evidence.  The  same  author  however  expressly  allows 
that  the  claims  of '  the  historical'  and '  the  spiritual,'  the 
proofs  addressed  to  '  reason'  and  to  the  '  internal  sense,' 
may  each  be  properly-  entertained  in  their  respective 
provinces — the  danger  lies  in  confounding  them  or 
mistaking  the  one  for  the  other. 

Even  in  the  estimation  of  external  evidence,  every- 
thing depends  on  our  preliminari/  moral  convictions, 
and  upon  deciding  in  the  first  instance  whether,  on 
the  one  hand,  we  are  '  to  abandon  moral  conviction  at 
the  bidding  of  a  miracle,'  or,  on  the  other,  to  make 
conformity  with  moral  principles  the  sole  test  both  of 
the  evidences  and  of  the  doctrines  of  revelation. 

In  point  of  fact,  he  contends  that  the  main  actual 


*  See  Phases  of  Faith,  p.  154. 
^  lb.  pp.  82,  loS,  201,  1st  Ed. 


1.24         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

appeal  of  the  Apostles,  especially  of  St.  Paul,  was  not 
to  outward  testimony  or  logical  argument,  but  to  spi- 
ritual assurances  : — that  even  when  St.  Paul  does  enter 
on  a  sort  of  evidential  discussion,  his  reasoning  is  very 
unlike  what  a  Paley  would  have  exacted : — that  all 
real  evidence  is  of  the  spirit — which  alone  can  judge 
of  spiritual  things  ;  that  the  Apostles  did  not  go  about 
proclaiming  an  infallible  booJc,  but  the  convert  was  to 
be  convinced  by  his  own  internal  judgment,  not  called 
on  to  resign  it  to  a  systematized  and  dogmatic  creed. 
And  altogether  the  reasoning  of  the  Apostles  (wher- 
ever they  enter  upon  the  department  of  reasoning), 
was  not  according  to  our  logic,  but  only  in  accordance 
with  the  knowledge  and  philosophy  of  the  age. 

Thus  in  this  fundamental  assumption  of  internal 
evidence,  some  of  the  most  orthodox  writers  are  in 
fact  in  close  agreement  with,  those  nominally  of  a  very 
opposite  school. 

It  was  the  argument  of  Doderlein,  that  'the  truth 
of  the  doctrine  does  not  dej^end  on  the  miracles,  but 
we  must  frst  be  convinced  of  the  doctrine  by  its 
internal  evidence.' 

De  Wette  and  others  of  the  rationalists  expressly 
contend,  that  the  real  evidence  of  the  divinity  of  any 
doctrine  can  only  be  its  accordance  with  the  dictations 
of  the  moi'al  sense,  and  this,  Wegscheider  further 
insists,  was  in  fact  the  actual  appeal  of  Christ  in  his 
teaching.^ 

In  a  word,  on  this  view,  it  would  follow  that  all 
external  attestation  would  seem  superfluous  if  it 
concur  with,  or  to  be  rejected  if  it  oppose,  these  moral 


'  Jesus  ipse  doctriiiara  quam  tradidit  divinam  esse  professus  est,  quantum 
divina  ejus  indoles  ab  homine  vere  religioso  proboque  bene  cognosci  potest 
atque  dijudicari. — Weo^scheider,  in  Jolt.  vii.  17. 

Nulla  alia  ratio  et  via  eas  [doctrinas]  examinandi  datur  quam  ut  illarum 
placita  cum  iis  qure  via  natural!  rectaj  rationis  de  Deo  ejusque  voluntate 
ipsi  innotuerint  diligenter  componat  et  ad  nonnain  sine  omni  supevstitioue 
examinet. —  Wegscheider,  Instit.  Theol.  Chris.  Dogm.,  §  II,  p.  38. 


^liiJy  of  the  Eoidciices  of  Chrislianity.  125 

convictions/  Thus  a  considerable  school  have  been 
disposed  to  look  to  the  intrinsic  evidence  only,  and  to 
accept  the  declarations  of  the  Gospel  solely  o\\  the  ground 
of  their  intrinsic  excellence  and  accordance  with  our 
best  and  highest  moral  and  religious  convictions  ;  a 
view  which  would  approach  very  nearly  to  rejecting 
its  peculiarities  altogether. 

Thus  considerations  of  a  very  different  nature  are  now 
introduced  from  those  formerly  entertained ;  and  of  a 
kind  which  affect  the  entire  primary  conception  of  'a  reve- 
lation' and  its  authority,  and  not  merely  any  alleged 
external  attestations  of  its  truth.  Thus  any  discussion 
of  the  '  evidences'  at  the  present  day,  must  have  a 
reference  equally  to  the  influence  of  the  various 
systems  whether  of  ancient  precedent  or  of  modern 
illumination,  which  so  widely  and  powerfully  affect 
the  state  of  opinion  or  belief. 

Tn  whatever  light  we  regard  the  *  evidences'  of 
religion,  to  be  of  any  effect,  whether  external  or  inter- 
nal, they  must  always  have  a  special  reference  to  the 
peculiar  capacity  and  apprehension  of  the  party  addressed. 
Points  which  may  be  seen  to  involve  the  greatest 
difficulty  to  more  profound  inquirers,  are  often  such 
as  do  not  occasion  the  least  perplexity  to  ordinary 
minds,  but  are  allowed  to  pass  without  hesitation. 
To  them  all  difficulties  are  smoothed  down,  all  objec- 
tions (if  for  a  moment  raised)  are  at  once  answered  by 
a  few  plausible  commonplace  generalities,  which  to 
their  minds  are  invested  with  the  force  of  axiomatic 
truths,  and  to  question  which  they  would  regard  as  at 
once  idle  and  impious. 

On  the  other  hand,  exceptions  held  forth  as  fatal 
by  the  shallow  caviller  are  seen  by  the  more  deeply 
reflecting  in  all  their  actual  littleness  and  fallacy.  But 
for  the  sake  of  all  parties  at  the  present  day,  especially 


'  Such   was   the   argument   of  the    Characteristics,   vol.   ii.   p.   334. 
Ed.  1727. 


126  Sindij  of  the  Evidences  of  ChriHlianity . 

those  who  at  least  profess  a  disposition  for  pursuing 
the  serious  discussion  of  such  momentous  subjects,  it 
becomes  imperatively  necessary,  that  such  views  of  it 
should  be  suggested  as  may  be  really  suitable  to 
better  informed  minds,  and  may  meet  the  increasing 
demands  of  an  age  pretending  at  least  to  greater  en- 
lightenment. 

Those  who  have  reflected  most  deeply  on  the  nature 
of  the  argument  from  external  evidence,  will  admit 
that  it  would  naturally  possess  very  different  degrees 
of  force  as  addressed  to  different  ages ;  and  in  a 
period  of  advanced  physical  knowledge  the  reference 
to  what  was  believed  in  past  times,  if  at  variance  with 
principles  now  acknowledged,  could  afford  little  ground 
of  appeal :  in  fact,  would  damage  the  argument  rather 
than  assist  it. 

Even  some  of  the  older  writers  assign  a  much  lower 
place  to  the  evidence  of  miracles,  contrasting  it  with 
the  conviction  of  real  faith,  as  being  merely  a  pre- 
paratory step  to  it.     Thus,  an  old  divine  observes  : — 

'  Adducuntur    primum    ratione    exteri    ad    fidem, 

et    quasi    prseparantur ; "signis 

ergo  et  miraculis   via   fidei  per  sensus  et   rationeni 
sternitur.'^ 

^  And  here  it  should  be  especially  noticed,  as  charac- 
teristic of  the  ideas  of  his  age,  that  this  writer  classes 
the  sensible  evidence  of  miracles  along  with  the  con- 
victions of  reason,  the  very  opposite  to  the  view  which 
would  now  be  adopted,  indicative  of  the  difference  in 
physical  conceptions,  which  now  connects  miracles 
rather  with  faith,  as  they  are  seen  to  be  inconceivable 
to  reason. 

These  prevalent  tendencies  in  the  opinions  of  the 
age  cannot  but  be  regarded  as  connected  with  the  in- 
creasing admission  of  those  broader  views  of  physical 
truth  and  universal  order  in  nature,  which  have  been 


^  Melchior  Canus,  Loci  Tlieol.  ix.  6.  about  1540. 


Stiidj/  of  the  Eoldeiices  of  Clindianity.         127 

followed  out  to  liiglier  contemplations,  and  point  to 
the  acknowledgment  of  an  overruling  and  all-per\^ad- 
ing  supreme  intelligence. 

In  advancing  beyond  these  conclusions  to  the  doc- 
trines of  revelation,  we  must  recognise  both  the  due 
claims  of  science  to  decide  on  points  properly  belong- 
ing to  the  world  of  matter,  and  the  independence  of 
such  considerations  which  characterizes  the  disclosure 
of  spiritual  truth,  as  such. 

All  reason  and  science  conspire  to  the  confession 
tliat  beyond  the  domain  of  physical  causation  and  the 
possible  conceptions  of  intellect  or  knowledge,  there  lies 
open  the  boundless  region  of  spiritual  things,  which  is 
tlie  sole  dominion  o[  faiffi.  And  while  intellect  and 
philosophy  are  compelled  to  disown  the  recognition 
of  anything  in  the  world  of  matter  at  variance  with 
the  first  principle  of  the  laws  of  matter — the  universal 
order  and  indissoluble  unity  of  physical  causes — they 
are  the  more  ready  to  admit  the  higher  claims  of 
divine  mysteries  in  the  invisible  and  spiritual  world. 
Advancing  knowledge,  while  it  asserts  the  dominion 
of  science  in  physical  things,  confirms  that  of  faith  in 
spiritual ;  we  thus  neither  impugn  the  generalizations 
of  philosophy,  nor  allow  them  to  invade  the  dominion 
of  faith,  and  admit  that  what  is  not  a  subject  for  a 
problem  may  hold  its  place  in  a  creed. 

In  an  evidential  point  of  view  it  has  been  admitted 
by  some  of  the  most  candid  divines,  that  the  appeal 
to  miracles,  however  important  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  Gospel,  has  become  less  material  in  later  times, 
and  others  have  even  expressly  pointed  to  this  as 
the  reason  why  they  have  been  withdrawn ;  whilst  at 
the  present  day  the  most  earnest  advocates  of  evan- 
gelical faith  admit  that  outward  marvels  are  needless 
to  spiritual  conviction,  and  triumph  in  the  greater 
moral  miracle  of  a  converted  and  regenerate  soul. 

They  echo  the  declaration  of  St.  Chrysostom — 
'  If  you  are  a  believer  as  you  ought  to  be,  and  love 


128  Study  of  the  Evide72ces  of  Clnidianity. 

Christ   as  you  ouglit  to  love  him,  you  have  no  need 
of  miracles,  for  these  are  given  to  unbelievers.'^ 

After  all,  the  evhlmtial  argument  has  but  little 
actual  weight  with  the  generality  of  believers.  The 
high  moral  convictions  often  referred  to  for  internal 
evidence  are,  to  say  the  least,  probably  really  felt  by 
very  few,  and  the  appeal  made  to  miracles  as  proofs 
of  revelation  by  still  fewer ;  a  totally  different  feeling 
actuates  the  many,  and  the  spirit  of  faith  is  acknow- 
ledged where  there  is  little  disposition  to  reason  at  all, 
or  wdiere  moral  and  philosophical  considerations  are 
absolutely  rejected  on  the  highest  religious  grounds, 
and  everything  referred  to  the  sovereign  power  of 
divine  grace. 

Matters  of  clear  and  positive  fact,  investigated  on 
critical  grounds  and  supported  by  exact  evidence,  are 
properly  matters  of  knowledge,  not  of  faith.  It  is 
rather  in  points  of  less  definite  character  that  any 
exercise  of  faith  can  take  place ;  it  is  rather  with 
matters  of  religious  belief  belonging  to  a  higher  and 
less  conceivable  class  of  truths,  with  the  mysterious 
things  of  the  unseen  world,  that  faith  owns  a  con- 
nexion, and  more  readily  associates  itself  with  spiritual 
ideas,  than  with  external  evidence,  or  physical  events  ; 
and  it  is  generally  admitted  that  many  points  of  impor- 
tant religious  instruction,  even  conveyed  under  the  form 
of  fictions  (as  in  the  instances  of  doctrines  inculcated 
through  parables)  are  more  congenial  to  the  spirit  of 
faith  than  any  relations  of  historical  events  could  be. 

The  more  knowledge  advances,  the  more  it  has 
been,  and  will  be,  acknowledged  that  Christianity,  as 
a  real  religion,  must  be  viewed  apart  from  connexion 
with  physical  things. 


1  ^  ,  ,  ei  yap  tticttos  decs  fivai  xpf]  K«t  <f)iX€ls  tou  XpicrTov  as  (fyiXflv 
Set  ov  Yoeiai'  fX^'^  '''"''  ""'JMf'wf  ravrn  yap  inricrToii  8e8oTai. — Sum.  xxiii. 
in  Johan.  To  the  same  efiect  also  S.  isidoie,  '  Tunc  opoitebat  luundum 
m'lvaculis  credere, — nunc  vero  crtdcntem  oportet  bcnis  operibus  coruscare,' 
cited  in  Huss  in  defence  of  WickliH". 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  129 

The  first  dissociation  of  the  spiritual  from  the 
physical  was  rendered  necessary  by  the  palpable  con- 
tradictions disclosed  by  astronomical  discovery  with 
the  letter  of  Scripture.  Another  still  wider  and  more 
material  step  has  been  effected  by  the  discoveries 
of  geology.  More  recently  the  antiquity  of  the 
human  race,  and  the  development  of  species,  and  the 
rejection  of  the*  idea  of  '  creation,'  have  caused  new 
advances  in  the  same  direction. 

In  all  these  cases  there  is,  indeed,  a  direct  dis- 
crepancy between  what  had  been  taken  for  revealed 
truth  and  certain  undeniable  existing  monuments  to 
the  contrary. 

But  these  monuments  were  interpreted  by  science 
and  reason,  and  there  are  other  deductions  of  science 
and  reason  referring  to  alleged  events,  which,  though 
they  have  left  no  monuments  or  permanent  effects 
behind  them,  are  not  the  less  legitimately  subject  to 
the  conclusions  of  positive  science,  and  require  a 
similar  concession  and  recognition  of  the  same  prin- 
ciple of  the  independence  of  spiritual  and  of  physical 
truth. 

Thus  far  our  observations  are  general :  but  at  the 
present  moment  some  recent  publications  on  the  sub- 
ject seem  to  call  for  a  few  more  detailed  remarks.  We 
have  before  observed  that  the  style  and  character  of 
works  on  'the  evidences,'  has  of  necessity  varied  in 
different  ages.  Those  of  Leslie  and  Grotius  have,  by 
common  consent,  been  long  since  superseded  by  that  of 
Paley.  Paley  was  long  the  text-book  at  Cambridge ; 
his  work  was  never  so  extensively  popular  at  Oxford — 
it  has,  of  late,  been  entirely  disused  there.  By  the 
public  at  large,  however  once  accepted,  we  do  not 
hesitate  to  express  our  belief,  that  before  another 
quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed  it  will  be  laid  on  the 
shelf  with  its  predecessors  ;  not  that  it  is  a  work  des- 
titute of  high  merit — as  is  pre-eminently  true  also  of 
those  it  superseded,  and  of  others  again  anterior  to 

K 


130  Studj/  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianiti/. 

them ;  but  they  have  all  followed  the  irreversible  des- 
tiny that  a  work,  suited  to  convince  the  public  mind 
at  any  one  particular  period,  must  be  accommodated  to 
the  actual  condition  of  knowledge,  of  opinion,  and 
mode  of  thought  of  that  period.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  abstract  excellence,  but  of  relative  adaptatio-^,. 

Paley  caught  the  prevalent  tone  of  thought  in  his 
day.  Public  opinion  has  now  taken  a  different  turn ; 
and,  what  is  more  important,  the  style  and  class  of 
difficulties  and  objections  generally  felt  has  become 
wholly  different.  New  modes  of  speculation — new 
forms  of  scepticism — have  invaded  the  domain  of 
that  settled  belief  which  a  past  age  had  been  ac- 
customed to  rest  on  the  Paleyan  syllogism.  Yet, 
among  several  works  which  have  of  late  appeared 
on  the  subject,  we  recognise  few  which  at  all  meet 
these  requirements  of  existing  opinion.  Of  some  of  the 
chief  of  these  works,  even  appearing  under  the  sanction 
of  eminent  names,  we  are  constrained  to  remark  that 
they  are  altogether  behind  the  age ;  that  amid  much 
learned  and  acute  remark  on  matters  of  detail,  those 
material  points  on  which  the  modern  difficulties  chiefly 
turn,  as  well  as  the  theories  advanced  to  meet  them, 
are,  for  the  most  part,  not  only  ignored  and  passed 
over  without  examination  or  notice,  but  the  entire 
school  of  those  writers  who,  with  infinitely  varied 
shades  of  view,  have  dwelt  upon  these  topics  and  put 
forth  their  attempts,  feeble  or  powerful  as  the  case 
may  be — to  solve  the  difficulties — to  improve  the  tone 
of  discussion,  to  reconcile  the  difficulties  of  reason 
with  the  high  aspirations  and  demands  of  faith — are 
all  indiscriminately  confounded  in  one  common  cate- 
gory of  censure ;  their  views  dismissed  with  ridicule 
as  sophistical  and  fallacious,  abused  as  infinitely  dan- 
gerous, themselves  denounced  as  heretics  and  infidels, 
and  libelled  as  scoffers  and  atheists. 

In  truth,  the  majority  of  these  champions  of  the 
evidential  logic  betray  an  almost  entire  unconscious- 


study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianiti/.         131 

ness  of  the  advance  of  opinion  around  them.  Having 
their  own  ideas  long  since  cast  in  the  stereotyped 
mould  of  the  past,  they  seem  to  expect  that  a  pro- 
gressing age  ought  still  to  adhere  to  the  same  type, 
and  bow  implicitly  to  a  solemn  and  j)ompous,  but 
childish  parade  and  reiteration,  of  the  one-sided 
dogmas  of  an  obsolete  school,  coupled  with  awful 
denunciations  of  heterodoxy  on  all  who  refuse  to 
listen  to  them. 

Paley  clearly,  as  some  of  his  modern  commentators 
do  avoioedly,  occupied  the  position  of  an  advocate,  not 
of  a  judge.  They  professedly  stand  up  on  one  side, 
and  challenge  the  counsel  on  the  other  to  reply. 
Their  object  is  not  truth,  but  their  client's  case. 
The  whole  argument  is  one  of  special  pleading; 
we  may  admire  the  ingenuity,  and  confess  the 
adroitness  with  which  favourable  points  are  seized, 
unfavourable  ones  dropped,  evaded,  or  disguised ;  but 
we  do  not  find  ourselves  the  more  impressed  with  those* 
high  and  sacred  convictions  of  truth,  which  ought  to 
result  rather  from  the  wary,  careful,  dispassionate 
summing-up  on  both  sides,  which  is  the  function  of 
the  impartial  and  inflexible  judge. 

The  one  topic  constantly  insisted  on  as  essential  to 
the  grounds  of  belief,  considered  as  based  on  outward 
historical  evidence,  is  that  of  tlie  credibility  of  external 
facts  as  supported  by  testimony.  This  has  always  formed 
the  most  material  point  in  the  reasonings  of  the 
evidential  writers  of  former  times,  however  imperfectly 
and  unsatisfactorily  to  existing  modes  of  thought  they 
treated  it.  And  to  this  point,  their  more  recent  fol- 
lowers have  still  almost  as  exclusively  directed  their 
attention. 

In  the  representations  which  they  constantly  make, 
we  cannot  but  notice  a  strong  apparent  tendency  and 
desire  to  uphold  the  mere  assertion  of  witnesses  as  the 
sujn-eme  evidence  oi  fact,  to  the  utter  disparagement 
of  all  general  grounds  of  reasoning,  analogy,  and  an- 

K     2 


132         finely  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

tecedent  credibility,  by  which  that  testimony  may  be 
modified  or  discredited.  Yet  we  remark,  that  all  the 
instances  they  adduce,  when  carefully  examined,  really 
tend  to  the  very  conclusion  they  are  so  anxious  to  set 
aside.  Arguments  of  this  kind  are  sometimes  deduced 
from  such  cases  as,  e.y.,  the  belief  accorded  on  very 
slight  ground  of  probability  in  all  commercial  trans- 
actions dependent  on  the  assumed  credit  and  character 
of  the  negotiating  parties ;  from  the  conclusions  acted 
upon  in  life  assurances,  notwithstanding  the  pro- 
verbial instability  of  life  ; — and  the  like :  in  all  which 
we  can  see  no  other  real  drift  or  tendency  than  to 
substantiate  instead  of  disparage  the  necessity  for 
some  deeply-seated  conviction  of  permanent  order  as 
the  basis  of  all  probability. 

A  great  source  of  misapprehension  in  this  class  ol 
arguments  has  been  the  undue  confusion  between  the 
force  of  testimony  in  regard  to  human  affairs  and  events 
in  history,  and  in  regard  to  physical  facts.  It  may  be 
true  that  some  of  the  most  surprising  occurrences  in 
ordinary  history  are  currently,  and  perhaps  correctly 
accepted,  on  but  slight  grounds  of  real  testimony ; 
but  then  they  relate  to  events  of  a  kind  which, 
however  singular  in  their  particular  concomitant 
circumstances,  are  not  pretended  to  be  beyond  natu- 
ral causes,  or  to  involve  higher  questions  of  interven- 
tion. 

The  most  seemingly  improbable  events  in  human  his- 
tory may  be  perfectly  credible,  on  sufficient  testimony, 
however  contradicting  ordinary  experience  of  human 
motives  and  conduct — simply  because  we  cannot  assign 
any  limits  to  the  varieties  of  human  dispositions, 
passions,  or  tendencies,  or  the  extent  to  which  they 
may  be  influenced  by  circumstances  of  which,  perhaps, 
we  have  little  or  no  knowledge  to  guide  us.  But  no 
such  cases  would  have  the  remotest  applicability  to 
alleged  violations  of  the  laws  o^ matter,  or  interruptions 
of  the  course  of  physical  causes. 


Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.         133 

Tlie  case  of  the  alleged  external  attestations  of 
Revelation,  is  one  essentially  involving  considerations 
of  physical  evidence.  It  is  not  one  in  which  such 
reflexions  and  habits  of  thought  as  arise  out  of  a 
familiarity  with  human  history,  and  moral  argument, 
will  suffice.  These  no  doubt  and  other  kindred  topics, 
with  which  the  scholar  and  the  moralist  are  familiar, 
are  of  great  and  fundamental  importance  to  our  general 
views  of  the  whole  subject  of  Christian  evidence ;  but 
the  particular  case  of  miracles,  as  such,  is  one  specially 
bearing  on  purely  physical  contemplations,  and  on 
which  no  general  moral  principles,  no  common  rules 
of  evidence  or  logical  technicalities,  can  enable  us  to 
form  a  correct  judgment.  It  is  not  a  question  which 
can  be  decided  by  a  few  trite  and  commonplace 
generalities  as  to  the  moral  government  of  the  world 
and  the  belief  in  the  Divine  Omnipotence — or  as  to  the 
validity  of  human  testimony,  or  the  limits  of  human 
experience.  It  involves,  and  is  essentially  built  upon, 
those  grander  conceptions  of  the  order  of  nature,  those 
comprehensive  primary  elements  of  all  physical  know- 
ledge, those  ultimate  ideas  of  universal  causation, 
which  can  only  be  familiar  to  those  thoroughly  versed 
in  cosmical  philosophy  in  its  widest  sense. 

In  an  age  of  physical  research  like  the  present,  all 
highly  cultivated  minds  and  duly  advanced  intellects 
have  imbibed,  more  or  less,  the  lessons  of  the  inductive 
philosophy,  and  have  at  least  in  some  measure  learned 
to  appreciate  the  grand  foundation  conception  of 
universal  law — to  recognise  the  impossibility  even  of 
(my  two  material  atoms  subsisting  together  without  a 
determinate  relation — of  any  action  of  the  one  on  the 
other,  whether  of  equilibrium  or  of  motion,  without 
reference  to  a  physical  cause — of  any  modification 
whatsoever  in  the  existing  conditions  of  material  agents, 
unless  through  the  invariable  operation  of  a  series  of 
eternally  impressed  consequences,  following  in  some 
necessary  chain  of  orderly  connexion — however  imper- 


134         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Chidianitij. 

fectly  known  to  us.  So  clear  and  indisputable  indeed 
has  this  great  truth  become — so  deeply  seated  has  it 
been  now  admitted  to  be,  in  the  essential  nature  of 
sensible  things  and  of  the  external  world,  that  not 
only  do  all  philosophical  inquirers  adopt  it,  as  a 
primary  principle  and  guiding  maxim  of  all  their 
researches — but,  what  is  most  worthy  of  remark, 
minds  of  a  less  comprehensive  capacity,  accustomed 
to  reason  on  topics  of  another  character,  and  on  more 
contracted  views,  have  at  the  present  day  been  con- 
strained to  evince  some  concession  to  this  grand  prin- 
ciple, even  when  seeming  to  oppose  it. 

Among  writers  on  these  questions,  Dean  Trench  has 
evinced  a  higher  view  of  physical  philosophy  than  we 
might  have  expected  from  the  mere  promptings  of  phi- 
lology and  literature,  when  he  affirms  that  '  we  con- 
tinually behold  lower  laws  held  in  restraint  by  higher  ; 
mechanic  by  dynamic — chemical  by  vital,  physical  by 
moral ;'  remarks  which,  if  only  followed  out,  entirely 
accord  with  the  conclusion  of  universal  subordination 
of  causation  ;  though  we  must  remark  in  passing  that 
the  meaning  of  '  moral  laws  controlling  physical,'  is 
not  very  clear. 

It  is  for  the  most  part  hazardous  ground  for  any 
general  moral  reasoner  to  take,  to  discuss  subjects  of 
evidence  which  essentially  involve  that  higher  appre- 
ciation of  phynical  truth  which  can  be  attained  only 
from  an  accurate  and  comprehensive  acquaintance  with 
the  connected  series  of  the  physical  and  mathematical 
sciences.  Thus,  for  example,  the  simple  but  grand 
truth  of  the  law  of  conservation,  and  the  stability  of 
the  heavenly  motions,  now  well  understood  by  all  sound 
cosmical  philosophers,  is  but  the  t3q3e  of  the  universal 
self-sustaining  and  self-evolving  powers  which  pervade 
all  nature.  Yet  the  difficulty  of  conceiving  this  truth 
in  its  simplest  exemplification  was  formerly  the  chief 
hindrance  to  the  acceptance  of  the  solar  system — from 
the  prepossession  of  the  peripatetic  dogma  that  there 


StuJtj  of  the  Evidences  of  Chri>>{iauif^.  135 

must  be  a  constantly  acting  moving  force  to  keep  it 
going.  This  very  exploded  chimera,  however,  by  a 
singular  infatuation,  is  now  actually  revived  as  the 
ground  of  argument  for  miraculous  interposition  by 
redoubtable  champions  who,  to  evince  their  profound 
knowledge  of  mechanical  philosophy,  inform  us  that 
'  the  whole  of  nature  is  like  a  mill,  which  cannot  go 
on  without  the  continual  application  of  a  moving 
power  !' 

Of  these  would-be  philosophers,  we  find  many 
anxiously  dwelling  on  the  topic,  so  undeniably  j  ust  in 
itself,  of  the  danger  of  incautious  conclusions — of  the 
gross  errors  into  which  men  Ml  by  over-hast}^  gene- 
ralizations. They  recount  with  triumph  the  absurd 
mistakes  into  which  some  even  eminent  philosophers 
have  fallen  in  prematurely  denying  what  experience 
has  since  fully  shown  to  be  true,  because  in  the  then 
state  of  knowledge  it  seemed  incredible.^  They  feel 
an  elevating  sense  of  superiority  in  putting  down  the 
arrogance  of  scientific  pretensions  by  alleging  the  short- 
sighted dogmatism  with  which  men  of  high  repute  in 
science  have  evinced  a  scepticism  in  points  of  vulgar 
belief,  in  which,  after  all,  the  vulgar  belief  has  proved 
right.  They  even  make  a  considerable  display  of 
reasoning  on  such  cases  ;  but  we  cannot  sa}^  that  those 
reasonings  are  particularly  distinguished  for  con- 
sistency, force,  or  originality.  The  philosopher  (for 
example)  denies  the  credibilit}^  of  alleged  events  pro- 
fessedly in  their  nature  at  variance  with  all  phi/sical 
analog]!.  These  writers,  in  reply,  affect  to  make  a  solemn 
appeal  to  the  bar  of  analogy,  and  support  it  by  instances 
which  precisely  defeat  their  own  conclusion.  Thus  they 
advance  the  novel  and  profoundly  instructive  story  of  an 
Indian  who  denied  the  existence  of  ice  as  at  variance 


^  Numerous  instances  of  the  kind  referred  to  will  be  found  cited  in  Mr. 
R.  Chambers's  Essay  on  Testimony,  &c.  Edinburgh  Papers,  1859 ;  and  in 
Abp.  VVhately's  Edition  of  Paley's  Evidences. 


136         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

with  experience ;  and  still  more  from  the  contradiction 
that  being  solid,  it  could  not  float  in  water.  In  like 
manner  they  dwell  npon  other  equally  interesting 
stories  of  a  butterfly,  who  from  the  experience  of  his 
ephemeral  life  in  summer,  denied  that  the  leaves  were 
ever  brown  or  the  ground  covered  with  snow ;  of  a 
child  who  watched  a  clock  made  to  strike  o)ily  at  noon, 
through  many  hours,  and  therefore  concluded  it  could 
never  strike  ;  of  a  person  who  had  observed  that  fish 
are  organized  to  stoim,  and  therefore  concluded  there 
could  be  no  such  animals  ^^fying  fish. 

These,  with  a  host  of  other  equally  recondite,  novel, 
startling,  and  conclusive  instances  are  urged  in  a  tone 
of  solemn  wisdom,  to  prove — what  ?  That  water  is 
converted  into  ice  by  a  regular  Icnoian  law ;  that  it  has 
a  specific  gravity  less  than  water  by  some  laiv  at  present 
but  imperfectly  understood ;  that  without  violation  of 
analogy,  fins  may  be  modified  into  wings ;  that  it  is 
part  of  the  great  laio  of  climate  that  in  winter  leaves 
are  brown  and  the  ground  sometimes  white — that 
machinery  may  be  made  with  action  intermitting  by 
laws  as  regular  as  those  of  its  more  ordinary  operation. 
In  a  word,  that  the  philosopher  who  looks  to  an 
endless  subordinating  series  of  laws  of  successively 
higher  generality,  is  inconsistent  in  denying  events  at 
variance  with  that  subordination  ! 

It  is  indeed  curious  to  notice  the  elaborate  multi- 
plication of  instances  adduced  by  some  of  the  writers 
referred  to,  all  really  tending  to  prove  the  subordi- 
nation of  facts  to  laws,  clearly  evinced  as  soon  as  the 
cases  were  well  understood,  though,  till  then,  often 
regarded  in  a  sceptical  spirit ;  while  of  that  scepticism 
they  furnish  the  real  and  true  refutation  in  the  prin- 
ciple of  law  ultimately  established,  under  whatever 
primary  appearance  and  semblance  of  marvellous 
discordance  from  all  h^w.  It  would  be  beyond  our 
limits  to  notice  in  detail  such  instances  as  are  thus 
dwelt  upon,  and  apparently  regarded  as  of  sovereign 


Study  oj  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.         137 

value  and  importance,  to  discredit  philosophical  gene- 
ralization : — such  as  the  disbelief  in  the  marvels  re- 
counted by  Marco  Polo  ;  of  the  miracle  of  the  martyrs 
who  spoke  articulately  after  their  tongues  were  cut 
out ;  the  angel  seen  in  the  air  by  2000  persons  at 
Milan ;  the  miraculous  balls  of  fire  on  the  spires  at 
Plausac ;  Herodotus's  story  of  the  bird  in  the  mouth 
of  the  crocodile ;  narratives  of  the  sea-serpent,  marvels 
of  mesmerism  and  electro-biology;  all  discredited 
formerly  as  fables ;  vaccination  observed  and  attested 
by  peasants,  but  denied  and  ridiculed  by  medical 
men : — 

These  and  the  like  cases  are  all  urged  as  triumphant 
proofs,  of  what? — that  some  men  have  always  been, 
found  of  unduly  sceptical  tendencies ;  and  sometimes 
of  a  rationally  cautious  turn  ;  who  have  heard  strange, 
and,  perhaps,  exaggerated  narratives,  and  have  main- 
tained sometimes  a  wise,  sometimes  an  unwise,  degree 
of  reserve  and  caution  in  admitting  them  ;  though  they 
have  since  proved  in  accordance  with  natural  causes. 

Hallam  and  Eogers  are  cited  as  veritable  witnesses 
to  the  truth  of  certain  effects  of  mesmerism  in  their 
day  generally  disbelieved;  and  for  asserting  which 
they  were  met  with  all  but  an  imputation  of  '  the  lie 
direct.'  They  admitted,  however,  that  their  assertion 
was  founded  on  '  experience  so  rare  as  to  be  had  only 
once  in  a  century;'  but  that  experience  has  been 
since  universally  borne  out  by  all  who  have  candidly 
examined  the  question,  and  the  apj)are?itly  isolated  and 
marvellous  cases  have  settled  down  into  examples  of 
broad  and  general  laios,  now  fully  justified  by  experience 
and  analogy. 

Physiological  evidence  is  adduced  (which  we  will 
suppose  well  substantiated)  to  show  that  the  excision 
of  the  whole  tonyue  does  not  take  away  the  power  of 
speech,  though  that  of  the  extremity  does  so ;  hence 
the  denial  of  the  story  from  imperfect  experience. 
So    of    other   cases :  the    angel    at    Milan   was   the 


138         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

aerial  reflexion  of  an  image  on  a  cliurcli ;  the  balls  of 
fire,  at  Plausac,  were  electrical ;  the  sea-serpent  was  a 
basking  shark,  or  a  stem  of  sea-weed.  A  committee  of 
the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  with  Lavoisier  at 
its  head,  after  a  grave  investigation,  pronounced  the 
alleged  fall  of  aerolites  to  be  a  superstitious  fable.  It 
is,  however,  now  substantiated,  not  as  a  miracle,  but 
as  a  well-known  natural  phenomenon.  Instances  of 
undue  philosophical  scepticism  are  unfortunately  com- 
mon ;  but  they  are  the  errors,  not  the  correct  processes, 
of  inductive  inquiry. 

Granting  all  these  instances,  we  merely  ask — what 
do  they  prove? — except  the  real  and  paramount 
dominion  of  the  rule  of  law  and  order,  of  universal 
suhordination  of  physical  causes,  as  the  sole  pi'inciple 
and  criterion  of  proof  and  evidence  in  the  region  of 
physical  and  sensible  truth ;  and  nowhere  more  em- 
phatically than  in  the  history  of  marvels  and  pro- 
digies, do  we  find  a  verification  of  the  truth,  '  opin- 
ion um  commenta  delet  dies,  naturae  judicia  con- 
firmat.' 

This  in  fact  is  the  sole  real  result  of  all  the  profound 
parallelisms  and  illustrative  anecdotes  so  confidently 
but  unconsciously  adduced  by  these  writers  with  an 
opposite  design. 

What  is  the  real  conclusion  from  the  far-famed 
Historic  Doubts  and  the  Chronicles  of  Ecnarf?  but 
simply  this — there  is  a  rational  solution,  ?i  r6'6(/ conformity 
to  analogy  and  experience,  to  whatever  extent  a  par- 
tially informed  iuquirer  might  be  led  to  reject  the  re- 
counted apparent  wonders  on  imperfect  knowledge,  and 
from  too  hasty  inference ;  these  delightful  parodies 
on  Scripture  (if  they  prove  anything),  would  simply 
prove  that  the  Bible  narrative  is  no  more  properly 
miraculous  than  the  marvellous  exploits  of  Napoleon  I., 
or  the  paradoxical  events  of  recent  histor3^ 

Just  a  similar  scepticism  has  been  evinced  by  nearly 
all  the  first  physiologists  of  the  day,  who  have  joined 


SfiiJ?/  of  the  Evidences  of  Chistianitij.         139 

in  rejecting  the  development  theories  of  Lamarck  and 
the  Vedlges ;  and  while  they  have  strenuously  main- 
tained successive  creations,  have  denied  and  denounced 
the  asserted  production  of  organic  life  by  Messrs.  Crosse 
and  Weekes,  and  stoutly  maintained  the  impossibility 
of  spontaneous  generation,  on  the  alleged  ground  of  con- 
tradiction to  experience.  Yet  it  is  now  acknowledged 
under  the  high  sanction  of  the  name  of  Owen,^  that 
'  creation'  is  only  another  name  for  our  ignorance  of  the 
mode  of  production ;  and  it  has  been  the  unanswered 
and  unanswerable  argument  of  another  reasoner  that 
new  species  must  have  originated  either  out  of  their  inor- 
ganic elements,  or  out  of  previously  organized  forms  j 
either  development  or  spontaneous  generation  must  he 
true  :  while  a  work  has  now  appeared  b}^  a  naturalist 
of  the  most  acknowledged  authority,  Mr.  Darwin's 
masterly  volume  on  Tlte  Origin  of  Sj^ecies  by  the  law 
of  '  natural  selection,' — which  now  substantiates  on 
undeniable  grounds  the  very  principle  so  long  de- 
nounced by  the  first  naturalists, — the  origination  of 
■new  species  by  natural  causes  :  a  work  which  must  soon 
bring  about  an  entire  revolution  of  opinion  in  favour  of 
the  grand  principle  of  the  self-evolving  powers  of  nature. 
By  parity  of  reason  it  might  just  as  well  be  objected 
to  Archbishop  Whately's  theory  of  civilization,  Ave  have 
only  for  a  few  centuries  known  anything  of  savages  ; 
how  then  can  we  pretend  to  infer  that  they  have  7iever 
civilized  themselves  ?  never,  in  all  that  enormous 
length  of  time  which  modern  discovery  has  now  indis- 
putably assigned  to  the  existence  of  the  human  race  ! 
This  theory,  however,  is  now  introduced  as  a  com- 
ment on  Paley  in  support  of  the  credibility  of  revela- 
tion ;  and  an  admirable  argument  no  doubt  it  is, 
though  perhaps  many  would  apply  it  in  a  sense  some- 
what different  from  that  of  the  author.  If  the  use  of 
fire,  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,   and  the  like,   were 


British  Association  Address,  1S58. 


140         Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

Divine  revelations,  the  most  obvious  inference  would 
be  that  so  likewise  are  printing  and  steam.  If  the 
boomerang  was  divinely  communicated  to  savages 
ignorant  of  its  principle,  then  surely  the  disclosure  of 
that  principle  in  our  time  by  the  gyroscope,  was 
equally  so.  But  no  one  denies  revelation  in  this  sense  ; 
the  philosophy  of  the  age  does  not  discredit  the  in- 
spiration of  Prophets  and  Apostles,  though  it  may 
sometimes  believe  it  in  poets,  legislators,  philosophers, 
and  others  gifted  with  high  genius.  At  all  events,  the 
revelation  of  civilization  does  not  involve  the  question 
of  external  miracles,  which  is  here  the  sole  point  in 
dispute.  The  main  assertion  of  Paley  is  that  it  is 
impossible  to  conceive  a  revelation  given  except  by 
means  of  miracles.  This  is  his  primary  axiom ;  but 
this  is  precisely  the  point  which  the  modern  turn  of 
reasoning  most  calls  in  question,  and  rather  adopts 
.  the  belief  that  a  revelation  is  then  most  credible,  when 
it  appeals  least  to  violations  of  natural  causes.  Thus, 
if  miracles  were  in  the  estimation  of  a  former  ao-e 
among  the  chief  siq)ports  of  Christianity,  they  are  at 
present  among  the  main  difficulties,  and  hindrances  to 
^    its  acceptance. 

One  of  the  first  inductive  pliilosophers  of  the  age, 
Professor  Faraday,  has  incurred  the  unlimited  dis- 
pleasure of  these  profound  intellectualists,  because  he 
has  urged  that  the  mere  contracted  experience  of  the 
senses  is  liable  to  deception,  and  that  we  ought  to  be 
guided  in  our  conclusions — and,  in  fact,  can  only  correct 
the  errors  of  the  senses — by  a  careful  recurrence  to  the 
consideration  of  natural  laws  and  extended  analogies.^ 
In  opposition  to  this  heretical  proposition,  they^  set 
in  array  the  dictum  of  two  great  authorities  of  the 
Scottish  scdiool,  Drs.  Abercrombie  and  Chalmers,  that 
'  on  a  certain  amount  of  testimony  we  might  believe 

*  Lecture  on  Mental  Education,  i8,'^4. 
"  See  Edinburgh  Papers,  '  Testimouy,'  &c.,  by  11.   Cliambers,    Esq., 
F.R.S.E.,  &c. 


Studij  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.         141 

any  statement,  however  improbable  ;'  so  tliat  if  a  num- 
ber of  respectable  witnesses  were  to  concur  in  asseve- 
rating that  on  a  certain  occasion  they  had  seen  two 
and  two  make  five,  we  should  be  bound  to  believe  them  ! 

This,  perhaps  it  will  be  said,  is  an  extreme  case. 
Let  us  suppose  another : — if  a  number  of  veracious 
witnesses  were  to  allege  a  real  instance  of  witchcraft 
at  the  present  day,  there  might  no  doubt  be  found 
some  infatuated  persons  who  would  believe  it ;  but 
the  strongest  of  such  assertions  to  any  educated  man 
would  but  prove  either  that  the  witnesses  were  cun- 
ningly imposed  upon,  or  the  wizard  himself  deluded. 
If  the  most  numerous  ship's  company  were  all  to 
asseverate  that  they  had  seen  a  mermaid,  would  any 
rational  persons  at  the  present  day  believe  them? 
That  they  saw  something  which  they  believed  to  be  a 
mermaid,  would  be  easily  conceded.  No  amount  of 
attestation  of  innumerable  and  honest  witnesses, 
would  ever  convince  any  one  versed  in  mathematical 
and  mechanical  science,  that  a  person  had  squared 
the  circle  or  discovered  perpetual  motion.  Antecedent 
credibility  depends  on  antecedent  knowledge,  and 
enlarged  views  of  the  connexion  and  dependence  ot 
truths  ;  and  the  value  of  any  testimony  will  be  modi- 
fied or  destroyed  in  different  degrees  to  minds  dif- 
ferently enlightened. 

Testimony,  after  all,  is  but  a  second-hand  assurance ; 
— it  is  but  a  blind  guide  ;  testimony  can  avail  nothing 
against  reason.  The  essential  question  of  miracles 
stands  quite  apart  from  any  consideration  of  testimony  ; 
the  question  would  remain  the  same,  if  we  had  the 
evidence  of  our  own  senses  to  an  alleged  miracle,  that 
is,  to  an  extraordinary  or  inexplicable  fact.  It  is  not 
the  mere  fact,  but  the  cause  or  explanation  of  it,  which 
is  the  point  at  issue. 

The  case,  indeed,  of  the  antecedent  argument  of  mi- 
racles is  very  clear,  however  little  some  are  inclined 
to  perceive  it.     In  nature  and  from  nature,  by  science 


142         Studij  of  the  Evidences  of  C/iristianitt/. 

and  by  reason,  we  neither  have  nor  can  possibly  have 
any  evidence  of  a  Deiti/  working  miracles ; — for  that,  we 
must  go  out  of  nature  and  beyond  science.  If  we 
could  have  any  such  evidence  from  nature,  it  could 
only  prove  extraordinary  natural  effects,  which  would 
not  be  miracles  in  the  old  theological  sense,  as  isolated, 
unrelated,  and  uncaused ;  whereas  no  physical  fact  can 
be  conceived  as  unique,  or  without  analogy  and  relation 
to  otliers,  and  to  the  whole  system  of  natural  causes. 

To  conclude :  an  alleged  miracle  can  only  be  re- 
garded in  one  of  two  ways; — either  (e)  abstractedly 
^'  as  a  physical  event,  and  therefore  to  be  investigated 
'  by  reason  and  physical  evidence,  and  referred  to  phy- 
sical causes,  possibly  to  known  causes,  but  at  all  events 
to  some  higher  cause  or  law,  if  at  present  unknown ; 
it  then  ceases  to  be  supernatural,  yet  still  might  be 
appealed  to  in  support  of  religious  truth,  especially 
as  referring  to  the  state  of  knowledge  and  apprehen- 
sions of  the  parties  addressed  in  past  ages ;  or  (2) 
as  connected  with  religious  doctrine,  regarded  in  a 
sacred  light,  asserted  on  the  authority  of  inspiration. 
In  this  case  it  ceases  to  be  capable  of  investigation  by 
reason,  or  to  own  its  dominion ;  it  is  accepted  on  re- 
ligious grounds,  and  can  appeal  only  to  the  principle 
and  influence  of  faith.  Thus  miraculous  narratives  be- 
come invested  with  the  character  of  articles  of  faith,  if 
they  be  accepted  in  a  less  positive  and  certain  light, 
as  requiring  some  suspension  of  judgment  as  to  their 
nature  and  circumstances,  or  perhaps  as  involving 
more  or  less  of  the  parabolic  or  mythic  character ;  or 
at  any  rate  as  received  in  connexion  with,  and  for  the 
sake  of  the  doctrine  inculcated. 

Some  of  the  most  strenuous  advocates  of  the  Chris- 
tian '  evidences'  readily  avow,  indeed  expressly  con- 
tend, that  the  attestation  of  miracles  is,  after  all,  not 
irresistible ;  and  that  in  the  very  uncertainty  which 
confessedly  remains  lies  the  '  trial  of  faith,'^  which  it  is 


'  See,  e.cj.,  Butler's  Analogy,  pt,  ii.  ch.  6. 


Studij  of  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.         143 

thus  implied  must  really   rest   on   some   other  inde- 
pendent moral  conviction. 

In  the  popular  acceptation,  it  is  clear  the  Gospel 
miracles  are  always  objects,  not  evidences  of  faith ;  and  *^ 
when  they  are  connected  specially  with  doctrines,  as  ^' 
in  several  of  the  higher  mysteries  of  the  Christian  faith, 
the  sanctity  which  invests  the  point  of  faith  itself  is 
extended  to  the  external  narrative  in  which  it  is  em- 
bodied ;  the  reverence  due  to  the  mystery  renders  the 
external  events  sacred  from  examination,  and  shields 
them  also  within  the  pale  of  the  sanctuary ;  the 
miracles  are  merged  in  the  doctrines  with  which  they 
are  connected,  and  associated  with  the  declarations  of 
spiritual  things  which  are,  as  such,  exempt  from  those 
criticisms  to  which  physical  statements  would  be 
necessarily  amenable. 

But  even  in  a  reasoning  point  of  view,  those  who 
insist  most  on  the  positive  external  proofs,  allow  that 
moral  evidence  is  distinguished  from  demonstrative,  not 
only  in  that  it  admits  of  decrees,  but  more  especially 
in  that  the  same  moral  argument  is  of  different  force 
to  different  minds.  And  the  advocate  of  Christian  evi- 
dence triumphs  in  the  acknowledgment  that  the 
strength  of  Christianity  lies  in  the  variety  of  its  evi- 
dences, suited  to  all  varieties  of  apprehension ;  and, 
that,  amid  all  the  diversities  of  conception,  those  who 
cannot  appreciate  some  one  class  of  proofs,  will  always 
find  some  other  satisfactory,  is  itself  the  crowning 
evidence. 

With  a  firm  belief  in  constant  supernatural  interpo- 
sition, the  contemporaries  of  the  Apostles  were  as  much 
blinded  to  the  reception  of  the  gospel,  as,  with  an 
opposite  persuasion,  others  have  been  at  a  later  period. 
Those  who  had  access  to  livino-  Divine  instruction 
were  not  superior  to  the  prepossessions  and  ignorance 
of  their  times.  There  never  existed  an  '  infallible  age' 
of  exemption  from  doubt  or  prejudice.  And  if  to 
later  times  records  written  in  the  characters  of  a  lon^r 
past  epoch  are  left  to  be  deciphered  by  the  advancing 


144  Study  of  the  Evidences  of  Clmdianity . 

light  of  learning  and  science, — tlie  spirit  of  faith  dis- 
covers continually  increasing  attestation  of  the  Divine 
authority  of  the  truths  they  include. 

The  '  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  us'  is  not  re- 
stricted to  external  signs,  nor  to  any  one  kind  of  evi- 
dence, but  consists  of  such  assurance  as  may  be  most 
satisfactory  to  each  earnest  individual  inquirer's  own 
mind.  And  the  true  acceptance  of  the  entire  revealed 
manifestation  of  Christianity  will  be  most  worthily 
and  satisfactorily  based  on  that  assurance  of  'faith,' 
by  which  the  Apostle  affirms  '  we  stand,'  (2  Cor.  ii.  24), 
and  which,  in  accordance  with  his  emphatic  declara- 
tion, must  rest,  '  not  in  the  wisdom  of  man,  but  in 
the  power  of  God.'     (i  Cor.  ii.  5.) 


* 


SEANCES  HISTORIQUES  DE  GENEVE— 
THE  NATIONAL  CHUKCH. 


IN  the  city  of  Geneva,  once  the  stronghold  of 
the  severest  creed  of  the  Eeformation,  Chris- 
tianity itself  has  of  late  years  received  some  very 
rude  shocks.  But  special  attempts  have  been  re- 
cently made  to  counteract  their  effects  and  to  re- 
organize the  Christian  congregations  upon  Evangelical 
principles.  In  piu'suance  of  this  design,  there  have 
been  delivered  and  published  during  the  last  few 
years  a  series  of  addresses  by  distinguished  persons 
I  holding  Evangelical  sentiments,  entitled  Seances  His- 
1  toriques.  The  attention  of  the  hearers  was  to  be 
I  conciliated  by  the  concrete  form  of  these  discourses  ; 
j  the  phenomenon  of  the  historical  Christianity  to  be 
presented  as  a  fact  which  could  not  be  ignored,  and 
which  must  be  acknowledged  to  have  had  some  special 
source  ;  while,  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  offered, 
the  more  peculiar  views  of  the  speakers  were  to  be  in- 
stilled. But  before  this  panorama  of  historic  scenes 
had  advanced  beyond  the  period  of  the  fall  of  hea- 
thenism in  the  West,  there  had  emerged  a  remarkable 
discrepancy  between  the  views  of  two  of  the  authors, 
otherwise  agreeing  in  the  main. 

It  fell  to  the  Comte  Leon  de  Gasparin  to  illustrate 
the  reign  of  Constantine.  He  laid  it  down  in  the 
strongest  manner,  that  the  individualist  principle 
supplies  the  true  basis  of  the  Church,  and  that  by 
^inaugurating  the    union  between  Church    and  State 


146  Seances  Mistoriques  de  Geneve. 

Constantine  introduced  into  Christianity  the  false 
and  pagan  principle  of  Multitudinism.  M.  Bungener 
followed  in  two  lectures  upon  the  age  of  Ambrose  and 
Theodosius.  He  felt  it  necessary,  for  his  own  satis- 
faction and  that  of  others,  to  express  his  dissent  from 
these  opinions.  He  agreed  in  the  portraiture  drawn  by 
his  predecessor  of  the  so-called  first  Christian  emperor, 
and  in  his  estimate  of  his  personal  character.  But  he 
maintained,  that  the  multitudinist  principle  was  not 
unlawful,  nor  essentially  pagan ;  that  it  was  reco- 
gnised and  consecrated  in  the  example  of  the  Jewish 
theocracy ;  that  the  greatest  victories  of  Christianity 
have  been  won  by  it ;  that  it  showed  itself  under 
Apostolic  sanction  as  early  as  the  day  of  Pentecost ; — 
for  it  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  the  three  thousand 
who  were  joined  to  the  Church  on  the  preaching  of 
Peter  to  have  been  all  '  converted'  persons  in  the 
modern  Evangelical  sense  of  the  word.  He  especially 
pointed  out,  that  the  Churches  which  claim  to  be 
founded  upon  Individualism,  fall  back  themselves, 
when  they  become  hereditary,  upon  the  multitudi- 
nist principle.  His  brief,  but  very  pertinent  obser- 
vations on  that  subject  were  concluded  in  these 
words  : — 

'  Le  multitudinisme  est  une  force  qui  pent,  comme  I 
toute  force,  etre  mal  dirigee,  mal  exploitee,  mais  qui 
pent  aussi  I'etre  au  profit  de  la  verite,  de  la  piete,  de 
la  vie.  Les  Eglises  fondees  sur  un  autre  principe  ont 
aide  a  rectifier  celui-la ;  c'est  un  des  incontestables 
services  qu'elles  ont  rendus,  de  nos  jours,  a  la  cause  de 
I'Evangile.  Elles  ont  droit  a  notre  reconnaissance  ; 
mais  a  Geneve,  qu'elles  ne  nous  demandent  pas  ce  que 
nous  ne  pouvons  faire,  et  qu'on  me  permette  de  le 
dire,  ce  qu'elles  ne  font  pas  elles-memes.  Oui !  le 
multitudinisme  genevois  est  reste  vivant  chez  elles,  et 
certainement  elles  lui  doivent  une  portion  notable  de 
leur  consistance  au  dedans,  de  leur  influence  au  dehors.  | 
Elles  font  appel,  comme  nous,  a  ses  souvenirs  et  a  ses 


TJie  National  Church.  147 

gloires ;  elles  ferment,  avec  nous,  ce  que  le  moncle 
Chretien  appelle  et  appellera  toujours  V Eylise  de  Geneve. 
Nous  ne  ]a  renions,  au  fond,  pas  plus  les  uns  que  les 
autres.  Elle  a  ete,  elle  est,  elle  restera  notre  mere 
a  tous.'^ 

Such  are  the  feelings  in  favour  of  Nationalism  on 
tlie  part  of  M.  Bungener,  a  member  of  the  Genevan 
Church ;  a  Church  to  which  many  would  not  even  con- 
cede that  title,  and  of  which  the  ecclesiastical  renown 
centres  upon  one  great  name ;  while  the  civil  history 
of  the  country  presents  but  little  of  interest  either  in 
ancient  or  modern  times.  But  the  questions  at  issue 
between  these  two  Genevans  are  of  wide  Christian 
concern,  and  especially  to  ourselves.  If  the  Genevans 
cannot  be  proud  of  their  Calvin,  as  they  cannot  in  all 

(4hings — and  even  he  is  not  truly  their  own — they  have 
little  else  of  which  to  speak  before  Christendom.  Very 
different  are  the  recollections  which  are  awakened  by 
the  past  history  of  such  a  Church  as  ours.  Its 
roots  are  found  to  penetrate  deep  into  the  history  of 
the  most  freely  and  fully  developed  nationality  in  the 
world,  and  its  firm  hold  upon  the  past  is  one  of  its 
best  auguries  for  the  futm-e.  It  has  lived  through 
Saxon  rudeness,  Norman  rapine,  baronial  oppression 
and  bloodshed ;  it  has  survived  the  tyranny  of  Tudors, 
recovered  from  fanatical  assaults,   escaped   the  trea- 

j  cilery  of  Stuarts ;  has  not  perished   under    coldness, 

I  nor  been  stifled  with  patronage,  nor  sunk  utterly  in  a 
(lull  age,  nor  been  entirely  depraved  in  a  corrupt  one. 
Neither    as   a   spiritual    society,   nor    as    a    national 

\  institution,  need  there  be  any  fear  that  the  Church 
of  this  country,  which  has  passed  through  so  many 
ordeals,  shall  succumb,  because  we  may  be  on  the 
verge  of  some  political  and  ecclesiastical  changes.  We, 
ourselves,  cohere  with  those  who  have  preceded  us, 
under  very  different  forms  of  civil  constitution,  and 

'  Seances    Sisiot'iques    de     Geneve — Le     Christianisme    au    4/eme 
Siecle,  p.  153. 

L  % 


y^dV" 


148  Seances  Historiques  de  Geneve. 

under  a  very  different  creed  and  externals  of  worship. 
The  '  rude  forefathers/  whose  mouldering  bones,  layer 
upon  layer,  have  raised  the  soil  round  the  foundations 
of  our  old  churches,  adored  the  Host,  worshipped  the 
Virgin,  signed  themselves  with  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
sprinkled  themselves  with  holy  water,  and  paid  money 
for  masses  for  the  relief  of  souls  in  purgatory.  But  it 
is  no  reason,  because  we  trust  that  spiritually  we  are 
at  one  with  the  best  of  those  who  have  gone  before  us 
in  better  things  than  these,  that  we  should  revert  to 
their  old-world  practices  ;  nor  should  we  content  our- 
selves with  simply  transmitting  to  those  who  shall 
follow  us,  traditions  which  have  descended  to  ourselves, 
if  we  can  transmit  soraethino-  better.  There  is  a  time 
for  building  up  old  waste  places,  and  a  time  for  raisin,^ 
fresh  structures  ;  a  time  for  repairing  the  ancient  j 
paths,  and  a  time  for  filling  the  valleys  and  lowering  ' 
the  hills  in  the  constructing  of  new.  The  Jews,  con- 
temporaries of  Jesus  and  his  Apostles,  were  fighters 
against  God,  in  refusing  to  accept  a  new  application 
of  tilings  Avritten  in  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the 
Psalms  ;  the  Romans  in  the  time  of  Theodosius  were 
fighters  against  Him,  when  they  resisted  the  new 
religion  with  an  appeal  to  old  customs ;  so  were  the 
opponents  of  Wycliti'e  and  his  English  Bible,  and  the 
opponents  of  Cranmer  and  his  Peformation.  Meddle 
not  with  them  that  are  given  to  change  is  a  warning 
for  some  times,  and  self-willed  persons  may  '  bring  in 
damnable  heresies  ;'  at  others,  '  old  things  are  to  pass 
away,'  and  that  is  erroneously  '  called  heresy '  by  the 
blind,  which  is  really  a  worshipping  the  God  of  the  \ 
Fathers  in  a  better  way. 

When  signs  of  the  times   are  beheld,   foretelling 
change,  it    behoves    those  who    think  they  perceive 
them  to  indicate  them  to  others,  not  in  any  spirit  of 
presumption  or  of  haste  ;  and,  in  no  spirit  of  presump-  \ 
tion,  to  suggest  inquiries  as  to  the  best  method  oi  \ 
adjusting  old  things  to  new  conditions. 


The  National  Church.  149 

Many  evils  are  seen  in  various  ages,  if  not  to  have 
issued  directly,  to  have  been  intimately  linked  with 
the  Christian  profession — such  as  religious  wars,  per- 
secutions, delusions,  impositions,  spiritual  tyrannies  ; 
many  goods  of  civilization  in  our  own  day,  when 
men  have  run  to  and  fro  and  knowledge  has 
been  increased,  have  apparently  not  the  remotest 
connexion  with  the  Grospel.  Hence  grave  doubts  arise 
in  the  minds  of  really  well-meaning  persons,  whether 
the  secular  future  of  humanity  is  necessarily  bound 
up  with  the  diffusion  of  Christianity — whether  the 
Church  is  to  be  hereafter  the  life-giver  to  human 
society.  It  would  be  idle  on  the  part  of  religious 
advocates  to  treat  anxieties  of  this  kind  as  if  they  were 
forms  of  the  old  Voltairian  anti-Christianism.  They 
are  not  those  affectations  of  difficulties  whereby  vice 
endeavours  to  lull  asleep  its  fears  of  a  judgment 
to  come ;  nor  are  they  the  pretensions  of  ignorant 
and  presumptuous  spirits,  making  themselves  wise 
beyond  the  limits  of  man's  wisdom.  Even  if  such 
were,  indeed,  the  sources  of  the  wide-spread  doubts 
respecting  traditional  Christianity  which  prevail  in 
our  own  day,  it  would  be  very  injudicious  polemic 
whicli  should  content  itself  with  denouncing  the 
wickedness,  or  expressing  pity  for  the  blindness,  of 
those  who  entertain  them.  An  imputation  of  evil 
motives  may  embitter  an  opponent  and  add  gall  to 
controversy,  but  can  never  dispense  with  the  necessity 
for  replying  to  his  arguments,  nor  with  the  advisable- 
ness  of  neutralizing  his  objections. 

If  anxieties  respecting  the  future  of  Christianity, 
and  the  ofiice  of  the  Christian  Church  in  time  to 
come,  were  confined  to  a  few  students  or  speculative  ^ 
philosophers,  they  might  be  put  aside  as  mere  theore- 
tical questions ;  if  rude  criticisms  upon  the  Scriptures, 
of  the  Tom  Paine  kind,  proceeding  from  agitators  of 
the  masses,  or  from  uninstructed  persons,  were  the 
only  assaults  to  which  the  letter  of  the  Bible  was  ex- 


150  Seances  Historiques  de  Geneve. 

posed,  it  might  be  thought,  that  further  instruction 
would  impart  a  more  reverential  and  submissive  spirit : 
if  lay  people  only  entertained  objections  to  established 
formularies  in  some  of  their  parts,  a  self-satisfied 
sacerdotalism,  confident  in  a  supernaturally  trans- 
mitted illumination,  might  succeed  in  keeping  peace 
within  the  walls  of  emptied  churches.  It  may  not 
be  very  easy,  by  a  statistical  proof,  to  convince 
those  whose  preconceptions  indispose  them  to  admit 
it,  of  the  fact  of  a  very  wide-spread  alienation,  both  of 
educated  and  uneducated  persons,  from  the  Christianity 
which  is  ordinarily  presented  in  our  churches  and 
chapels.  Whether  it  be  their  reason  or  their  moral 
sense  which  is  shocked  by  what  they  hear  there,  the 
ordinances  of  public  worship  and  religious  instruction 
provided  for  the  people  of  England,  alike  in  the  en- 
dowed and  unendowed  churches,  are  not  used  by  them 
to  the  extent  we  should  expect,  if  they  valued  them  very 
highly,  or  if  they  were  really  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
their  nature  as  it  is.  And  it  has  certainly  not  hitherto 
received  the  attention  which  such  a  grave  circumstance 
demanded,  that  a  number  equal  to  five  millions  and 
a  quarter  of  persons,  should  have  neglected  to  attend 
means  of  public  worsliip  within  their  reach  on  the 
census  Sunday  in  1851  ;  these  five  millions  and  a 
quarter  being  forty-two  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number 
able  and  with  opportunity  of  then  attending.  As  an 
indication,  on  the  other  hand,  of  a  great  extent  of 
dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  to  some 
portion,  at  least,  of  the  formularies  of  the  Church 
of  England,  may  be  taken  the  fact  of  the  existence 
of  various  associations  to  procure  their  revision,  or 
some  liberty  in  their  use,  especially  that  of  omitting 
one  unhappy  creed. 

It  is  generally  the  custom  of  those  who  wish  to 
ignore  the  necessity  for  grappling  with  modern  ques- 
tions concerning  Biblical  interpretation,  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Christian  Creed,  the  position  and  prospects 


Tlie  National  Church.  151 

of  the  Cliristian  Church,  to  represent  the  disposition 
to  entertain  them  as  a  disease  contracted  by  means 
of  German  inocuhition.  At  other  times,  indeed,  the 
tables  are  turned,  and  theological  inquirers  are  to  be 
silenced  with  the  reminder,  that  in  the  native  land  of 
the  modern  scepticism,  Evangelical  and  High  Lutheran 
reactions  have  already  put  it  down.  It  may  be,  that 
on  these  subjects  we  shall  in  England  be  much  in- 
debted, for  some  time  to  come,  to  the  patience  of 
German  investigators  ;  but  we  are  by  no  means  likely 
to  be  mystified  by  tlieir  philosophical  speculations,  nor 
to  be  carried  away  by  an  inclination  to  force  all  facts 
within  the  sweep  of  some  preconceived  comprehensive 
theory.  If  the  German  Biblical  critics  have  gathered 
together  much  evidence,  the  verdict  will  have  to  be 
pronounced  by  the  sober  English  judgment.  But,  in 
fact,  the  influence  of  this  foreign  literature  extends  to  *' 
comparatively  few  among  us,  and  is  altogether  in- 
sufficient to  account  for  the  wide  spread  of  that 
which  has  been  called  the  negative  theology.  This 
is  rather  owing  to  a  spontaneous  recoil,  on  the 
part  of  large  numbers  of  the  more  acute  of  our 
population,  from  some  of  the  doctrines  which  are  to  ■*• 
be  heard  at  church  and  chapel;  to  a  distrust  of  the  old 
arguments  for,  or  proofs  of,  a  miraculous  Eevelation ; 
and  to  a  misgiving  as  to  the  authority,  or  extent  oi 
the  authority,  of  the  Scriptures.  In  the  presence  of 
real  difficulties  of  this  kind,  probably  of  genuine 
English  growth,  it  is  vain  to  seek  to  check  that  open 
discussion  out  of  which  alone  any  satisfactory  settle- 
ment of  them  can  issue. 

There  may  be  a  certain  amount  of  literature  circula- 
ting among  us  in  a  cheap  form,  of  which  the  purpose, 
with  reference  to  Christianity,  is  simply  negative  and  n, 
destructive,  and  which  is  characterized  by  an  absence 
of  all  reverence,  not  only  for  beliefs,  but  for  the  best 
human  feelings  which  have  gathered  round  them, 
even  when  they  have  been  false  or  superstitious.     But 


152  Seances  Ilistoriques  de  Geneve. 

if  those  who  are  old  enough  to  do  so  would  compare 
the  tone  generally  of  the  sceptical  publications  of  the 
present  day  with  that  of  the  papers  of  Hone  and 
others  about  forty  years  ego,  they  would  be  reminded, 
that  assaults  were  made  then  upon  the  Christian 
religion  in  far  grosser  form  than  now,  and  long  before 
opinion  could  have  been  inoculated  by  German  philo- 
sophy— lono-  before  the  more  celebrated  criticisms 
upon  the  details  of  the  Evangelical  histories  had 
appeared.  But  it  was  attacked  then  as  an  institution, 
or  by  reason  of  the  unpopularit}^  of  institutions  and 
methods  of  government  connected,  or  supposed  to  be 
connected,  with  it.  The  anti-christian  agitation  of 
that  day  in  England  was  a  phase  of  radicalism,  and  of 
a  radicalism  which  was  a  terrific  and  uprooting  force, 
of  which  the  (iounterpart  can  scarcely  be  said  to  exist 
among  us  now. 

Tlie  sceptical  movements  in  this  generation  are  the 
result  of  observation  and  thought,  not  of  passion. 
Things  come  to  the  knowledge  of  almost  all  persons, 
which  were  unknown,  a  generation  ago,  even  to  the 
well  informed.  Thus  the  popular  knowledge,  at  that 
time,  of  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  populations 
which  cover  it,  was  extremely  incomplete.  In  our 
own  boyhood  the  world  as  known  to  the  ancients  was 
nearl}^  all  which  was  known  to  ourselves.  We  have 
recently  become  acquainted — intimate — with  the  teem  ■ 
ing  regions  of  the  far  East,  and  with  empires,  pagan 
or  even  atheistic,  of  which  the  origin  runs  far  back 
beyond  the  historic  records  of  Judsea  or  of  the  West, 
and  which  were  more  populous  than  all  Christendom 
now  is,  for  many  ages  before  the  Christian  era.  Kot 
any  book  learning — not  any  proud  exaltation  of  reason 
A^,  — not  any  dreamy  German  metaphysics — not  any 
^'' '  minute  and  captious  Biblical  criticism — suggest  ques- 
tions to  those  who  on  Sundays  hear  the  reading  and  ex- 
joosition  of  the  Scriptures  as  they  were  expounded  to 
our  forefathers,  and  on  Monday  peruse  the  news  of  a 


The  National  Church.  153 

world  of  wliicli  our  forefathers  little  dreamed ; — de- 
scriptions of  great  nations,  in  some  senses  barbarous 
compared  with  ourselves,  but  composed  of  men  of  flesh 
and  blood  like   our  own — of  like  passions,  marrying 
and  domestic,  congregating  in  great  cities,  buying  and 
selling   and    getting   gain,   agriculturists,   merchants, 
manufacturers,   making  wars,  establishing  dynasties, 
falling  down  before   objects  of  worship,  constituting 
priesthoods,  binding  themselves  by  oaths,  honouring 
the  dead.     In  what  relation  does  the  Gospel  stand  to 
these  millions  ?     Is  there  any  trace  on  the  face  of  its 
records  that  it    even   contemplated  their  existence  ? 
We  are  told,  that  to  know  and  believe  in  Jesus  Christ 
is  in  some  sense  necessary  to  salvation.     It  has  not 
been  given  to  these.     Are  they — will  they  be,  here- 
after,  the    worse    off    for   their   ignorance?      As    to 
abstruse   points  of   doctrine   concerning    the    Divine 
Nature  itself,  those   subjects   may  be   thought  to  lie 
beyond  the  range  of  our  fciculties  ;  if  one  says,  aye, 
no  other  is  entitled  to  say  no  to  his  aye  ;  if  one  says, 
no,  no  one  is  entitled  to  say  aye  to  his  no.     Besides, 
the  best  approximative  illustrations  of  those  doctrines 
must  be  sought  in  metaphysical  conceptions,  of  which 
few  are  capable,  and  in  the  histor}^  of  old  controversies, 
with  which  fewer  still  are  acquainted.     But  with  re- 
spect to  the  moral   treatment   of  His    creatures   by 
Almighty  God,  all  men,  in  different  degrees,  are  able 
to  be  judges  of  the  representations  made  of  it,  by  reason 
of  the  moral  sense  which  He  has  given  them.     As  to 
the  necessity  of  faith  in  a  Saviour  to  these  peoples, 
when  they  could  never  have  had  it,  no  one,  upon  re- 
flection, can  believe  in  any  such  thing — doubtless  they 
will  be  equitably  dealt  with.     And  when  we  hear  fine 
distinctions  drawn  between  covenanted  and  uncove- 
nanted  mercies,  it   seems  either  to   be  a  distinction 
without  a  difference,  or  to  amount  to  a  denial  of  the 
broad  and  equal  justice  of  the  Supreme  Being.     We 
cannot  be  content  to  wrap  this  question  up  and  leave 


154  Seances  Historiques  de  Geneve. 

it  for  a  mystery,  as  to  what  shall  become  of  those 
myriads  upon  myriads  of  non-christian  races.  First,  if 
our  traditions  tell  us,  that  thev  are  involved  in  the 
curse  and  perdition  of  Adam,  and  may  justly  be 
punished  hereafter  individually  for  his  transgression, 
not  having  been  extricated  from  it  by  saving  faith,  vv- e 
are  disposed  to  think,  that  our  traditions  cannot  herein 
fairly  declare  to  us  the  words  and  inferences  from  Scrip- 
ture ;  but  if  on  examination  it  should  turn  out  that 
they  have,  we  must  say,  that  the  authors  ol"  the 
»  Scriptural  books  have,  in  those  matters,  represented  to 

^  ""^  us  their  own  inadequate  conceptions,  and  not  the  mind 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  for  we  must  conclude  with  the 
Apostle,  '  Yea,  let  God  be  true  and  every  man  a  liar.' 
If,  indeed,  we  are  at  liberty  to  believe,  that  all  shall 
be  equitably  dealt  with  according  to  their  opportu- 
nities, whether  they  have  heard  or  not  of  the  name  of 
Jesus,  then  we  can  acknowledge  the  case  of  the 
Christian  and  non-Christian  populations  to  be  one  of 
'  difference  of  advantages.  And,  of  course,  no  account 
can  be  given  of  the  principle  which  determines  the 
unequal  distribution  of  the  divine  benefits.  The  ex- 
hibition of  the  divine  attributes  is  not  to  be  brought 
to  measure  of  numbers  or  proportions.  But  human 
statements  concernin"-  the  dealino-s  of  God  wdtli  man- 

o 

kind,  hypotheses  and  arguments  about  them,  may 
very  usefully  be  so  tested.  Truly,  the  abstract  or 
philosophical  difficulty  may  be  as  great  concerning  a 
small  number  of  persons  unprovided  for,  or,  as  might 
be  inferred  from  some  doctrinal  statements,  not  equi- 
tably dealt  with,  in  the  divine  dispensations,  as  con- 
cerning a  large  one ;  but  it  does  not  so  force  itself 
on  the  imagination  and  heart  of  the  generality  of 
observers.  The  difficulty,  though  not  new  in  itself,  is 
new  as  to  the  great  increase  in  the  numbers  of  those 
who  feel  it,  and  in  the  practical  urgency  for  discover- 
ing an  answer,  solution,  or  neutralization  for  it,  if  we 
would  set  many  unquiet  souls  at  rest. 


TJie  National  Church.  155 

From  the  same  source  of  the  advance  of  general 
knowledge  respecting  the  inhabitancy  of  the  world 
issues  another  inquiry  concerning  a  promise,  prophecy, 
or  assertion  of  Scripture.  For  the  commission  of 
Jesus  to  his  Apostles  was  to  preach  the  gospel  to  '  all 
nations,'  '  to  every  creature ;'  and  St.  Paul  says  of  the 
gentile  world,  '  But  I  say  have  they  not  heard  ? 
Yes,  verily,  their  sound  went  into  all  the  earth,  and 
their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world,'  (Horn.  x.  18), 
and  speaks  of  the  gospel  '  which  was  preached  to  every 
nation  under  Heaven,'  (Col.  i.  23),  when  it  has  never 
yet  been  preached  even  to  the  half.  Then,  again,  it 
has  often  been  appealed  to  as  an  evidence  of  the 
supernatural  origin  of  Christianity,  and  as  an  instance 
of  supernatural  assistance  vouchsafed  to  it  in  the  first 
centuries,  that  it  so  soon  overspread  the  world.  It 
has  seemed  but  a  small  leap  of  about  three  hundred 
years  to  the  age  of  Constantine,  if  in  that  time,  not 
to  insist  upon  the  letter  of  the  texts  already  quoted, 
the  conversion  of  the  civilized  world  could  be  accom- 
plished. It  ma}^  be  known  only  to  the  more  learned, 
that  it  was  not  accomplished  with  respect  to  the 
Roman  empire  even  then ;  that  the  Cliristians  of  the 
East  cannot  be  ftiirly  computed  at  more  than  half  the 
population,  nor  the  Christians  of  the  West  at  so  much 
as  a  third,  at  the  commencement  of  that  emperor's 
reign.  But  it  requires  no  learning  to  be  aware  that 
neither  then  nor  subsequently  have  the  Christians 
amounted  to  more  than  a  fourth  part  of  the  people  of 
the  earth;  and  it  is  seen  to  be  impossible  to  appeal 
any  longer  to  the  wonderful  spread  of  Christianity  in 
the  three  first  centuries,  as  a  special  evidence  of  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  God. 

So  likewise  a  very  grave  modification  of  an  'evidence'  -4. 
heretofore  current  must  ensue  in  another  respect,  in 
consequence  of  an  increased  knowledge  of  other  facts 
connected  with  the  foregoing.     It  has  been  customary 
to  argue  that,  a  j^riori,  a  supernatural  revelation  was  to 


156  Seances  Historiqites  de  Geneve. 

be  expected  at  the  time  when  Jesus  Christ  was  mani- 
fested upon  the  earth,  by  reason  of  the  exhaustion  of 
all  natural  or  unassisted  human  efforts  for  the  ameli- 
oration of  mankind.     The  state  of  the  world,  it  has 
been  customary  to  say,  had  become  so  utterly  corrupt 
and  hopeless  under  the  Eoman  sway,  that  a  necessity 
and  special  occasion  was  presented  for  an  express  divine 
intervention.     Our  recently  enlarged  ethnographical 
information  shows  such  an  argument  to  be  altogether 
inapplicable  to  the  case.     If  we  could  be  judges  of  the 
necessity  for  a  special  divine  intervention,  the  stronger 
necessity  existed  in  the  East.     There  immense  popula- 
tions, like  the  Chinese,  had  never  developed  the  idea 
of  a  personal  God,  or  had  degenerated  from  a  once 
pure  theological  creed,  as  in  India,  froni  the  rehgion 
of  the  Vedas.     Oppressions  and  tyrannies,  caste-dis- 
tinctions,  common   and   enormous    vices,  a   polluted 
idolatrous  worship,  as  bad   as  the   worst   which  dis- 
graced Eome,  Greece,  or  Syria,  had  prevailed  for  ages. 
It  would  not  be  very  tasteful,  as  an  exception  to 
this  description,  to  call  Buddhism  the  gospel  of  India, 
preached  to  it  five  or  six  centuries  before  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  was  proclaimed  in  the  nearer  East.     But  on 
the  whole  it  would  be  more  like  the  realities  of  things, 
as  we  can  now  behold  them,  to  say  that  the  Christian 
revelation  was  given  to  the  western  world,  because  it 
deserved  it  better  and  was  more  prepared  for  it  than 
the  East.     Philosophers,  at  least,  had  anticipated  in 
speculation  some  of  its  dearest  hopes,  and  had  prepared 
the  way  for  its  self-denying  ethics. 

There  are  many  other  sources  of  the  modern  ques- 
tionings of  traditional  Christianity  which  cannot  now 
be  touched  upon,  originating  like  those  which  have  been 
mentioned,  in  a  change  of  circumstances  wherein  ob- 
;^  servers  are  placed;  whereby  their  thoughts  are  turned  in 
new  directions,  and  they  are  rendered  dissatisfied  with 
old  modes  of  speaking.  But  such  a  difficulty  as  that 
respecting  the  souls  of  heathendom,  which  must  now 


I 


The  National  Church.  157 

come  closely  home  to  multitudes  among  us,  will  dis- 
appear, if  it  be  candidly  acknowledged  that  the  words 
of  the  New  Testament,  which  speak  of  the  preaching  ^ ^  , 
of  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  world,  were  limited  to  the  "^^^^ 
understanding  of  the  times  when  they  were  spoken ; 
that  doctrines  concerning  salvation,  to  be  met  with  in 
it,  are  for  the  most  part  applicable  only  to  those  to 
whom  the  preaching  of  Christ  should  come  ;  and  that 
we  must  draw  our  conclusions  respecting  a  just 
dealing  hereafter  with  the  individuals  wdio  make  up 
the  sum  of  heathenism,  rather  from  reflections  sug-  ■'- 
gested  by  our  own  moral  instincts  than  from  the  ex- 
press declarations  of  Scripture  writers,  who  had  no 
such  knowledge,  as  is  given  to  ourselves,  of  the  ampli- 
tude of  the  world,  which  is  the  scene  of  the  divine 
manifestations. 

Moreover,  to  our  great  comfort,  there  have  been 
preserved  to  us  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  de- 
claring: that  the  conditions  of  men  in  another  world 
will  be  determined  by  their  moral  characters  in  this, 
and  not  by  their  hereditary  or  traditional  creeds ;  and 
both  many  words  and  the  practice  of  the  great  Apostle 
Paul,  within  the  range  which  was  given  him,  tend  to 
the  same  result.  He  has  been  thought  even  to  make 
an  allusion  to  the  Buddhist  Dharinma,  or  law,  when 
he  said,  '  When  the  gentiles  which  have  not  the  law 
do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,  these 
having  not  the  law  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  which 
show  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,'  &c. 
(Hom.  i.  14  15.)  However  this  may  be,  it  is  evident 
that  if  such  a  solution  as  the  above  is  accepted,  a 
variety  of  doctrinal  statements  hitherto  usual,  Cal- 
vinistic  and  Lutheran  theories  on  the  one  hand,  and 
sacramental  and  hierarchical  ones  on  the  other,  must 
be  thrown  into  the  background,  if  not  abandoned. 

There  may  be  a  long  future  during  which  the 
present  course  of  the  world  shall  last.  Instead  of  its 
drawing  near    the  close    of  its  existence,    as  repre- 


158  Seances  Historiques  de  Geneve. 

sented  in  Millennarian  or  Eabbinical  fables,  and  with 
so  many  more  souls,  according  to  some  interpreta- 
tions of  the  Gospel  of  Salvation,  lost  to  Satan  in 
every  age  and  in  every  nation,  than  have  been  won 
to  Christ,  that  the  victory  would  evidently  be  on  the 
side  of  the  Fiend,  we  may  yet  be  only  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  career  of  the  great  Spiritual  Con- 
queror, even  in  this  world.  Nor  have  we  any  right  to 
say  that  the  effects  of  what  He  does  upon  earth  shall 
not  extend  and  propagate  themselves  in  worlds  to 
come.  But  under  any  expectation  of  the  duration 
of  the  present  secular  constitution,  it  is  of  the  deepest 
interest  to  us,  both  as  observers  and  as  agents,  placed 
evidently  at  an  epoch  when  humanity  finds  itself 
^  under  new  conditions,  to  form  some  definite  con- 
ception to  ourselves  of  the  way  in  which  Christianity 
is  henceforward  to  act  upon  the  world  which  is  our 
own. 

Different  estimates  are  made  of  the  beneficial  effects 
already  wrought  by  Christianity  upon  the  secular  as- 
pect of  the  world,  according  to  the  different  points  of 
view  from  which  it  is  regarded.  Some  endeavour, 
from  an  impartial  standing  point,  to  embrace  in  one 
panorama  the  whole  religious  history  of  mankind,  of 
which  Christianity  then  becomes  the  most  important 
phase ;  others  can  only  look  at  such  a  history  from 
within  some  narrow  chamber  of  doctrinal  and  eccle- 
siastical prepossessions.  And  anticipations  equally 
different  for  like  reasons  will  be  entertained  by  per- 
sons differently  imbued,  as  to  the  form  under  which, 
and  the  machinery  by  which,  it  shall  hereafter  be 
presented  with  success,  either  to  the  practically  un- 
christianized  populations  of  countries  like  our  own, 
or  to  peoples  of  other  countries  never  as  yet  even 
nominally  christianized. 

Although  the  consequences  of  what  the  Gospel  does 
will  be  carried  on  into  other  worlds,  its  work  is  to  be 
done  here ;  although  some  of  its  work  here  must  be  un- 


The  National  Church.  159 

seen,  yet  not  all;  nor  much  even  of  its  unseen  work  with- 
out at  least  some  visible  manifestation  and  effects.  The 
invisible  Church  is  to  us  a  mere  abstraction.  Now  it 
is  acknowlecVed  on  all  hands,  that  to  the  multitudinist 
principle  are  due  the  great  external  victories  which  the 
Christian  name  has  hitherto  won.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  alleged  by  the  advocates  of  Individualism,  that 
these  outward  acquisitions  and  numerical  accessions 
have  always  been  made  at  the  expense  of  the  purity 
of  the  Church ;  and,  also,  that  Scriptural  authority 
and  the  earliest  practice  is  in  favour  of  Individualism. 
Moreover,  almost  all  the  corruptions  of  Christianity 
are  attributed  by  individualists  to  the  effecting  by 
the  Emperor  Constantine  of  an  unholy  alliance 
between  Church  and  State.  Yet  a  fair  review,  as  far 
as  there  are  data  for  it,  of  the  state  of  Christianity 
before  the  time  of  that  emperor  will  leave  us  in  at  least 
very  great  doubt,  whether  the  Christian  character  was 
really,  in  the  anterior  period,  superior  on  the  average 
to  what  it  has  subsequently  been.  We  may  appeal 
to  the  most  ancient  records  extant,  and  even  to  the 
Apostolic  Epistles  themselves,  to  show,  that  neither 
in  doctrine  nor  in  morals  did  the  primitive  Christian 
communities  at  all  approach  to  the  ideal  which  has 
been  formed  of  them.  The  moral  defects  of  the 
earliest  converts  are  the  subject  of  the  gravest  expostu- 
lation on  the  part  of  the  Apostolic  writers :  and  the 
doctrinal  features  of  the  early  church  are  much  more 
undetermined  than  would  be  thought  by  those  who 
read  them  only  through  the  ecclesiastical  creeds. 

Those  who  belong  to  very  different  theological  schools 
acknowledge  at  times,  that  they  cannot  with  any  cer- 
tainty find  in  the  highest  ecclesiastical  antiquity  the 
dogmas  which  they  consider  most  important.  It  is 
customary  with  Lutherans  to  represent  their  doctrine 
of  justification  by  subjective  faith  as  having  died  out 
shortly  after  the  Apostolic  age.  In  fact,  it  never  was 
the  doctrine  of  any  considerable  portion  of  the  Church 


f^" 


160  Seances  Hisforiques  de  Geneve. 

till  the  time  of  the  Eeformation.  It  is  not  met  with 
in  the  immediately  post-Apostolic  writings,  nor  in  the 
Apostolic  writings,  except  those  of  St.  Paul,  not  even 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  which  is  of  the  Pauline 
or  Paulo- Johannean  school.  The  faith  at  least  of  that 
Epistle,  '  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,'  is  a  very 
different  faith  from  the  faith  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans, — if  the  Lutherans  are  correct  in  representing 
that  to  be,  a  conscious  apprehending  of  the  benefits 
to  the  individual  soul,  of  the  Saviour's  merits  and 
passion.  Then,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  admitted, 
even  maintained,  by  a  very  different  body  of  theolo- 
gians, as  by  the  learned  Jesuit  Petavius  and  many 
others,  that  the  doctrine  afterwards  developed  into  the 
Nicene  and  Athanasian,  is  not  to  be  found  explicitly 
in  the  earliest  Fathers,  nor  even  in  Scripture,  although 
provable  by  it.  One  polemical  value  of  this  view  to 
those  wdio  uphold  it,  is  to  show  the  necessity  of  an 
ins])ired  Church  to  develope  Catholic  truth. 

But  although  the  primitive  Christians  fell  far  short 
both  of  a  doctrinal  and  ethical  ideal,  there  is  this 
remarkable  distinction  to  be  noted  between  the  primi- 
tive aspects  of  doctrine  and  of  ethics.  The  morals  of 
the  first  Christians  were  certainly  very  far  below 
the  estimate  which  has  been  formed  of  them  ;  but 
the  standard  by  which  they  were  measured  w^as  un- 
varying, lofty,  and  peculiar;  moreover,  the  nearer  we 
approach  to  the  fountain  head,  the  more  definite  do 
we  find  the  statement  of  the  Christian  principle,  that 
the  source  of  religion  is  in  the  heart.  On  the  contrary, 
the  nearer  we  come  to  the  original  sources  of  the 
history,  the  less  definite  do  we  find  tlie  statements  of 
doctrines,  and  even  of  tlie  facts  from  which  the  doc- 
trines were  afterwards  inferred.  And,  at  the  very  first, 
with  our  Lord  Himself  and  His  Apostles,  as  repre- 
sented to  us  in  the  Kew  Testament,  morals  come 
beibre  contemplation,  ethics  before  theoretics.  In  the 
patristic  writings,  theoretics  assume  continually  an 


f<t 


The  National  Church.  IGl 

increasingly  disproportionate  value.  Even  within 
the  compass  of  our  New  Testament  there  is  to  be 
found  already  a  wonderful  contrast  between  the  words 
of  our  Lord  and  such  a  discourse  as  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  There  is  not  wanting,  indeed,  to  this 
Epistle  an  earnest  moral  appeal,  but  the  greater 
part  of  it  is  illustrative,  argumentative,  and  contro- 
versial. Our  Lord's  discourses  have  almost  all  of 
them  a  direct  moral  bearing.  This  character  of  His 
words  is  certainly  more  obvious  in  the  three  first 
Gospels  than  in  the  fourth ;  and  the  remarkable 
unison  of  those  Gospels,  when  they  recite  the  Lord's 
words,  notwithstanding  their  discrepancies  in  some 
matters  of  fact,  compel  us  to  think,  that  they  embody 
more  exact  traditions  of  what  He  actually  said  than 
the  fourth  does.^ 

As  monuments  or  witnesses,  discrepant  in  a  certain 
degree  as  to  otlier  particulars,  the  evidence  afforded 
by  the  three  Synoptics  to  the  Lord's  own  words  is 
the  most  precious  element  in  the  Christian  records. 
We  are  thereby  placed  at  the  very  root  of  the  Gospel 
tradition.  And  these  words  of  the  Lord,  taken  in  con- 
junction with  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  and  with  the 
first,  or  genuine,  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  leave  no  reason- 
able doubt  of  the  general  character  of  His  teaching 


'  The  fourth  Gospel  has  always  been  supposed  to  have  been  written  with 
a  controversial  purpose,  and  not  to  have  been  composed  till  from  sixty  to 
seventy  years  alter  the  events  which  it  undertakes  to  narrate  ;  some  critics, 
indeed,  think  it  was  not  of  a  date  anterior  to  the  year  140,  and  that  it  pre- 
supposes opinions  of  a  Valentinian  character,  or  even  Montanist,  which  would 
make  it  later  still.  At  any  rate  it  cannot,  by  external  evidence,  be  attached 
to  the  pei'son  of  St.  John  as  its  author,  in  the  sense  wherein  moderns  under- 
stand the  word  author  :  that  is,  there  is  no  proof  that  St.  John  gives  his 
voucher  as  an  eye  and  ear  witness  of  all  which  is  related  in  it.  Many 
persons  shrink  from  a  hona  fide  examination  of  the  '  Gospel  question,' 
because  they  imagine,  that  unless  the  four  Gospels  are  received  as  perfectly 
genuine  and  authentic — that  is,  entirely  the  composition  of  the  persons 
whose  names  they  bear,  and  without  any  admixture  of  legendary  matter 
or  embellishment  in  their  narratives,  the  only  alternative  is  to  suppose  a 
fraudulent  design  in  those  who  did  compose  them.  This  is  a  su]>position 
from  which  common  sense,  and  the  moral  instinct,  alike  revolt;  but  it  is 
happily  not  an  only  alternative. 

M 


162  Seances  Tlistoriqiies  de  Geneve. 

having  been  what,  for  want  of  a  better  word,  we  must 
perhaps  call  moral.  But  to  represent  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  as  a  moral  Spirit  is  not  merely  to  proclaim 
Him  as  a  Lawgiver,  enacting  the  observance  of  a  set 
of  precepts,  but  as  fulfilled  with  a  Spirit  given  to  Him 
*  without  measure,'  of  which,  indeed,  all  men  are  par- 
takers who  have  a  sense  of  what  they  '  ought'  to  be 
and  do ;  yet  flowing  over  from  Him,  especially  on 
those  who  j^erceive  in  His  words,  and  in  His  life, 
principles  of  ever- widening  application  to  the  circum- 
stances of  their  own  existence  ;  who  learn  from  Him 
to  penetrate  to  the  root  of  their  conscience,  and  to 
recognise  themselves  as  being  active  elements  in  the 
moral  order  of  the  universe. 

We  may  take  an  illustration  of  the  relative  value 
in  the  Apostolic  age  of  the  doctrinal  and  moral  prin- 
ciples, by  citing  a  case  whicli  will  be  allowed  to  be 
extreme  enough.  It  is  evident  there  were  among  the 
Christian  converts  in  that  earliest  period,  those  who  had 
no  belief  in  a  corporeal  resurrection.  Some  of  these 
had,  perhaps,  been  made  converts  from  the  sect  of 
the  Sadducees,  and  had  brought  with  them  into  the 
Christian  congregation  the  same  doubts  or  negative 
beliefs  which  belonged  to  them  before  their  conver- 
sion. The  Jewish  church  embraced  in  its  bosom  both 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  :  but  our  Lord,  although 
he  expressly  taught  a  resurrection,  and  argued  with 
the  Sadducees  on  the  subject,  never  treated  them  as 
aliens  from  Israel  because  they  did  not  hold  that  doc- 
trine ;  is  much  more  severe  on  the  moral  defects  and 
hypocrisies  of  the  Pharisees  than  upon  the  doctrinal 
defects  of  the  Sadducees.  The  Christian  Church  was 
recruited  in  its  Jewish  branch  chiefly  from  the  sect  of 
the  Pharisees,  and  it  is  somewhat  difficult  for  us  to 
realize  the  conversion  of  a  Sadducee  to  Christianity, 
retaining  his  Sadducee  disbelief  or  scepticism.  But, 
the  '  some  among  you  who  say  that  there  is  no  re- 
surrection of  the  dead,'  (i   Cor.  xv.    12,  comp.  3  Tim. 


The  National  Church.  163 

ii.    18),  can  leave  us   in  no   doubt  upon  the  matter, 
tliat  there  were  Christians  of  Sadducee  or  Gentile  pre- 
judices, like  those  who  mocked  or  those  who  hesitated 
when  Paul  preached  at  Athens  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead.     But  St.  Paul  argues  with  such  elaborately  in 
that  chapter,  without  expelling  them  from  the  Church, 
although  he  always  represents  faith  in  the  resurrec- 
tion as  the  corner-stone  of  the  Christian  belief.     He 
endeavours  rather  to  conciliate  and  to  remove  objec;- 
tions.     First,  he  represents  the  rising  to  life  again, 
not  as  miraculous  or  exceptional,  but  as   a  law   of 
humanity,  or  at  least  of  Christian  and  spiritualized 
humanity ;    and  he  treats  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
not   as   a   wonder,  but    as    a   prerogative   instance. 
Secondly,  he  shows,  upon  the   doctrine  of  a  spiritual 
body,  how  the  objections  against  a  resurrection  from 
the  gross  conception  of  a  flesh  and  blood  body,  fall  to 
the  ground.^     Now,  if  there  might  thus  be  Sadducee, 
or    quasi-Sadducee,   Christians   in   the   Church,  their 
Christianity  must  have  consisted  in  an  appreciation  of 
the  moral  spirit  of  Jesus,  and  in  an  obedience,  such 
as  it  might  be,  to  the  Christian  precepts ;  they  could 
have  been  influenced  by  no   expectation   of  a  future 
recorapence.     Their  obedience  might  or  might  not 
be  of  as  high  an  order  as  that  which  is  so  motived  ; 
it  might  have  been  a  mere  legal  habit,  or  an  exalted 
disinterested  life.     Now,  let  us  compare  a  person  of 
this  description  with  such  as  those  who  are  indicated, 
(1  Cor.  XV.  19,  32)  ;  and  we  cannot  think  that  St.  Paul 
is  there  speaking   of  himself  personally,  but  of  the 
general  run  of  persons  reluctant  to  exercise  self-re- 
straint and  to  expose  themselves  to  persecution  for  the 
Gospel's  sake,  yet  induced  to  do  so  by  the  hope  of  a 


*  So  in  Luke  xx.  27-35,  the  Sadducees  are  dealt  with  in  a  like  argumen- 
tative manner.  They  understood  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  to  imply 
the  rising  of  men  with  such  bodies  as  they  now  have ;  the  case  supposed  by 
them  loses  its  point  when  the  distinction  is  revealed  between  the  animal 
and  the  angelic  bodies. 

M    2 


164  Seances  Historiques  de  Geneve.  * 

future  reward.  Let  us  consider  these  two  de- 
scriptions of  persons.  The  one  class  is  defective  in 
the  Christian  doctrine,  and  in  the  most  fundamental 
article  of  the  Apostle's  preaching,  the  other  in  the 
Christian  moral  life ;  can  we  say  that  the  one  defect 
was  more  fatal  than  the  other  ?  We  do  not  find  the 
Apostle  excommunicating  these  Corinthians,  who  said 
there  was  no  resurrection  of  the  dead.^  On  the  other 
hand,  we  know  it  was  only  in  an  extreme  case  that 
he  sanctioned  excommunication  for  the  cause  of 
immorality.  And  upon  the  whole,  if  we  cannot 
effectually  compare  the  person  deficient  in  a  true 
belief  of  the  resurrection,  with  an  immoral  or  evil 
liver — if  we  can  only  say  they  were  both  bad  Chris- 
tians— at  least  we  have  no  reason  to  determine  that 
the  good  liver  who  disbelieved  the  resurrection  was 
treated  by  St.  Paul  as  less  of  a  Christian  than  the 
evil  liver  who  believed  it.  We  cannot  suppose  the 
evil  life  always  to  have  brought  on  the  disbelief  in  the 
doctrine,  nor  the  disbelief  in  the  doctrine  to  have 
issued  always  in  an  evil  life. 

Now,  from  what  has  been  said  we  gather  two  im- 
portant conclusions  : — first,  of  the  at  least  equal  value 
i^  of  the  Christian  life,  as  compared  with  the  Christian 
doctrine ;  and,  secondly,  of  the  retaining  within  the 
Church,  both  of  those  who  were  erroneous  and  defec- 
tive in  doctrine,  and  of  those  who  were  by  their  lives 
unworthy  of  their  profession ;    they  who  caused  di- 


'  St.  Paul  '  delivered  to  Satan'  (whatever  that  may  mean),  llymeiifEus 
who  maintained  the  resurrection  to  be  past  already,  most  likely  meaning 
it  was  only  a  moral  one ;  but  it  does  not  appear  it  was  for  this  offence  he 
is  so  mentioned  in  conjunction  with  Alexander,  and  their  provocation  is  not 
described :  where  he  is  said  to  have  taught  tliat  the  resurrection  is  past 
already,  he  is  in  companionship  with  Philetus,  and  nothing  is  added  of  any 
punishment  of  either.  These  strange  opinions  afterwards  hardened  into 
heretical  doctrine.  TertuW.  de  Frcescriptione  Har.  c.  xxxui.  Paulus  in 
ima  ad  Corinthios  notat  negatores  et  dubitatores  resurrectionis.  Htec 
opinio  propria  Sadduca'orum  :  partem  ejus  usurpat  Marcion  et  Apelles,  et 
Valentinus  et  si  qui  ulii  resurrectionem  carnis  inlringunt — a^que  tangit  eos 
qui  dicerent  fuctam  jam  resurrectionem  :  id  de  se  Valentin!  adseveraut. 


The  National  Church.  165 

visions  and  heresies  were  to  be  marked  and  avoided 
but  not  expelled,  and  if  any  called  a  brother  were 
a  notoriously  immoral  person,  the  rest  were  enjoined, 
no  not  to  eat  with  him,  but  he  was  not  to  be  refused 
the  name  of  brother  or  Christian,     (i  Cor.  v.  ii.) 

It  would  be  difficult  to  devise  a  description  of  a 
multitudinist  Church,  exhibiting  more  saliently  the 
worst  defects  which  can  attend  that  form,  than  this 
which  is  taken  from  the  evidence  of  the  Apostolic 
Epistles.  We  find  the  Pauline  Churches  to  have 
comprised,  not  only  persons  of  the  truest  doctrinal  in- 
sight, of  the  highest  spiritual  attainments,  of  martyr- 
like self-devotion,  but  of  the  strangest  and  most  in- 
congruous beliefs,  and  of  the  most  unequal  and  incon- 
sistent practice.  The  individualist  could  say  nothing 
more  derogatory  of  any  multitudinist  Church,  not 
even  of  a  national  one ;  unless,  perhaps,  he  might  say 
this,  that  less  distinction  is  made  within  such  a 
Church  itself,  and  within  all  modern  Churches,  be- 
tween their  better  and  worse  members,  than  was  made 
in  the  Apostolic  Churches.  Any  judicial  sentence  of 
excommunication  was  extremely  rare  in  the  Apostolic 
age,  as  we  have  seen,  and  the  distinction  between  the 
worthy  and  unworthy  members  of  the  Church  was  to 
be  marked,  not  by  any  public  and  authoritative  act, 
but  by  the  operation  of  private  conduct  and  opinion. 

The  Apostolic  Churches  were  thus  multitudinist,  and 
they  early  tended  to  become  National  Churches ;  from 
the  first  they  took  collective  names  from  the  localities 
where  they  were  situate.  And  it  was  natural 
and  proper  they  should,  except  upon  the  Calvinistic 
theory  of  conversion.  There  is  some  show  of  reason- 
able independence,  some  appearance  of  applying  the 
Protestant  liberty  of  private  judgment,  in  maintaining 
the  Christian  unlawfulness  of  the  union  of  Church  and 
State,  corruption  of  national  establishments,  and  like 
propositions.  But  it  w  dl  be  found,  that  where  they 
are  maintained  by  serious  and  religious  people,  they 


166  Seances  Hisforiques  de  Geneve. 

are  parts  of  a  Calvinistic  system,  and  are  held  in  con- 
nexion with  pecuhar  theories  of  grace,  immediate 
conversion,  and  arbitrary  call.  It  is  as  merely  a  Calvin- 
istic and  Congregational  commonplace,  to  speak  of  the 
unholy  union  of  Church  and  State  accomplished  by 
Constantine,  as  it  is  a  E-omish  commonplace,  to 
denounce  the  unholy  schism  accomplished  by  Henry 
the  Eighth.  But  in  fact  both  those  sovereigns  only 
carried  out,  chiefly  for  their  own  purposes,  that  which 
was  already  in  preparation  by  the  course  of  events ; 
even  Henry  would  not  have  broken  with  the  Pope  if 
he  had  not  seen  the  public  mind  to  be  in  some  degree 
ripe  for  it,  nor  would  Constantine  have  taken  the  first 
steps  towards  an  establishment  of  Christianity,  unless 
the  empire  had  already  been  growing  Christian. 

Unhappily,  together  with  his  inauguration  of  Multi- 
tudinism,  Constantine  also  inaugurated  a  principle 
essentially  at  variance  with  it,  the  principle  of 
doctrinal  limitation.  It  is  very  customary  to  attribute 
the  necessity  of  stricter  definitions  of  the  Christian 
creed  from  time  to  time  to  the  rise  of  successive 
heresies.  More  correctly,  there  succeeded  to  the 
fluid  state  of  Christian  opinion  in  the  first  century 
after  Christ,  a  gradual  hardening  and  systematizing 
of  conflicting  views  ;  and  the  opportunity  of  reverting 
to  the  freedom  of  the  Apostolic  and  immediately  suc- 
ceeding periods,  was  finally  lost  for  many  ages  by  the 
sanction  given  by  Constantine  to  the  decisions  of 
Nicsea,  "We  cannot  now  be  very  good  judges,  whether 
it  would  have  been  possible,  together  with  the  esta- 
blishment of  Christianity  as  the  imperial  religion,  to 
enforce  forbearance  between  the  great  antagonisms 
which  were  then  in  dispute,  and  to  have  insisted  on  the 
maxim,  that  neither  had  a  right  to  limit  the  common 
Christianity  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other.  At  all  events 
a  principle  at  variance  with  a  true  Multitudinism  was 
then  recognised.  All  parties  it  must  be  acknowledged 
were  equally  exclusive.     And  exclusion  and  definition 


The  National  Church.  1G7 

have  since  been  the  rule  for  almost  all  Churches,  more 
or  less,  even  when  others  of  their  principles  might 
seem  to  promise  a  greater  freedom. 

That  the  members  of  a  Calvinistic  Church,  as  in  the 
Geneva  of  Calvin  and  Beza,orin  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
should  coincide  with  the  members  of  the  State — that 
'  election'  and  'effectual  call'  should  be  hereditary,  is  of 
course,  too  absurd  to  suppose ;  and  the  congregational 
Calvinists  are  more  consistent  than  the  Calvinists  of 
Established  Churches.  Of  Calvinism,  as  a  system  of 
doctrine,  it  is  not  here  proposed  to  say  anything, 
except,  that  it  must  of  necessity  be  hostile  to  every 
other  creed;  and  the  members  of  a  Calvinistic  Church 
can  never  consider  themselves  but  as  parted  by  an  in- 
superable distinction  from  all  other  professors  of  the 
Gospel ;  they  cannot  stand  on  a  common  footing,  in 
any  spiritual  matter,  with  those  who  belong  to  the 
world,  that  is,  with  all  others  than  themselves.  The 
exclusiveness  of  a  multitudinist  Church,  which  makes, 
as  yet,  the  ecclesiastical  creeds  the  terms  of  its  com- 
munion, may  cease  when  that  test  or  limitation  is 
repealed.  But  the  exclusiveness  of  a  Calvinistic 
Church,  whether  free  from  the  creeds  or  not,  is  in- 
herent in  its  principles.  There  is  no  insuperable 
barrier  between  Congregationalists  not  being  Cal- 
vinists, and  a  multitudinist  Church  which  should 
liberate  itself  sufficiently  from  the  traditional  symbols. 
Doctrinal  limitations  in  the  multitudinist  form  of 
Church  are  not  essential  to  it ;  upon  larger  knowledge 
of  Christian  history,  upon  a  more  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  the  mental  constitution  of  man,  upon  an 
understanding  of  the  obstacles  they  present  to  a  true 
Catholicity,  they  may  be  cast  off.  Nor  is  a  multi- 
tudinist Church  necessarily  or  essentially  hierarchical, 
in  any  extreme  or  superstitious  sense ;  it  can  well 
admit,  if  not  pure  Congregationalism,  a  large  admix- 
ture of  the  congregational  spirit.  Indeed,  a  com- 
bination of  the  two  principles   will  alone  keep  any 


168  Seances  Ilistoriques  de  Geneve. 

Cliurcli  in  health  and  vigour.  Too  great  importance 
-V-  attached  to  a  hierarchical  order  will  lead  into  super- 
stitions respecting  Apostohcal  succession,  ministerial 
illumination,  supernatural  sacramental  influence  ;  mere 
^^  Congregationalism  tends  to  keep  ministers  and  people 
at  a  dead  spiritual  level.  A  just  recognition  and 
balancing  of  the  two  tendencies,  allows  the  emerging  of 
the  most  eminent  of  the  congregation  into  offices  for 
which  they  are  suited  ;  so  that  neither  are  the  true 
hierarchs  and  leaders  of  thought  and  manners  drawn 
down  and  made  to  succumb  to  a  mere  democracy,  nor 
those  clothed  in  the  priests'  robe  who  have  no  true 
unction  from  above.  And  this  just  balance  between  the 
hierarchy  and  the  congregation  would  be  at  least  as 
attainable  in  the  national  form  of  Church  as  in  any 
other,  if  it  were  free  from  dogmatical  tests  and  similar 
intellectual  bondage.  But  there  are  some  prejudices 
against  Nationalism  which  deserve  to  be  farther  con- 
sidered. 

It  was  natural  for  a  Christian  in  the  earliest 
period,  to  look  upon  the  heathen  state  in  which  he 
found  himself  as  if  it  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of 
Satan  and  not  to  that  of  God  ;  and  consecrated  as  it 
was,  in  all  its  offices,  to  the  heathen  divinities,  to 
consider  it  a  society  having  its  origin  from  the  powers 
of  darkness,  not  from  the  Lord  of  light  and  life.  In 
the  Apostolic  writers  this  view  appears  rather  in  the 
First  Epistle  of  St.  John  than  with  St.  Paul.  The 
horizon  which  St.  John's  view  embraced  was  much 
narrower  than  St.  Paul's  ; 

Qui  mores  hominum  multorum  vidit  et  urbes. 

If  the  love  felt  and  inculcated  by  St.  John  towards 
the  brethren  was  the  more  intense,  the  charity  with 
which  St.  Paul  comprehended  all  men  was  the  more 
ample  ;  and  it  is  not  from  every  point  of  view  we 
should  describe  St.  John  as  pre-eminently  the  Apostle 
of  love.     With  St.   Jolui',  'the  whole  world  lieth  in 


The  Natio7ial  Church.  1G9 

wickedness,'  while  St.  Paul  exhorts  '  prayers  and  sup- 
plications to  be  made  for  all  men,  for  kings,  and  for  all 
that  are  in  authority.'  Taking  a  wide  view  of  the 
world  and  its  history,  we  must  acknowledge  political 
constitutions  of  men  to  be  the  work  of  Grod  Himself; 
they  are  organizations  into  which  human  society 
grows  by  reason  of  the  properties  of  the  elements 
which  generate  it.  But  the  primitive  Christians  could 
scarcely  be  expected  to  see,  that  ultimately  the  Gospel 
was  to  liave  sway  in  doing  more  perfectly  that  which 
the  heathen  religions  were  doing  imperfectly;  that  its 
office  should  be,  not  only  to  quicken  the  spirit  of  the 
individual  and  to  confirm  his  future  hopes,  but  to 
sanctify  all  social  relations  and  civil  institutions,  and 
to  enter  into  the  marrow  of  the  national  life  ;  whereas 
heathenism  had  only  decorated  the  surface  of  it. 

Heathendom  had  its  national  Churches.  Indeed, 
the  existence  of  a  national  Church  is  not  only  a  per- 
missible thing,  but  is  necessary  to  the  completion  of 
a  national  life,  and  has  shown  itself  in  all  nations, 
when  they  have  made  any  advance  in  civilization.  It 
has  been  usual,  but  erroneous^  to  style  the  Jewish 
constitution  a  theocracy  in  a  peculiar  and  exclusive 
sense,  as  if  the  combination  of  the  religious  and  civil 
life  had  been  confined  to  that  people.  Even  among 
barbarous  tribes  the  fetish-man  establishes  an  authority 
over  the  rest,  quite  as  much  from  the  yearning  of  others 
after  guidance  as  from  his  own  superior  cunning. 
Priesthoods  have  always  been  products.  Priests  have 
neither  been,  as  some  would  represent,  a  set  of  deli- 
berate conspirators  against  tlie  free  thoughts  of  man- 
kind ;  nor  on  the  other  hand,  have  they  been  the  sole 
divinely  commissioned  channels  for  communication  of 
spiritual  truth.  If  all  priests  and  ministers  of  religion 
could  at  one  moment  be  swept  from  the  face  of  the 
earth  they  would  soon  be  reproduced.  If  the  human 
race,  or  a  given  people — and  a  recent  generation 
saw  an  instance  of  something  like  it  in  no  distant 


170  The  National  Church. 

nation — were  resolved  into  its  elements,  and  all  its 
social  and  religious  institutions  shattered  to  pieces, 
it  would  reconstruct  a  political  framework  and 
a  spiritual  organization,  re-constituting  governors, 
laws  and  magistrates,  educators  and  ministers  of 
religion. 

The  distinction  between  the  Jewish  people  and  the 
other  nations,  in  respect  of  this  so-called  theocracy,  is 
but  feebly  marked  on  both  sides.  For  the  religious 
element  was  much  stronger  than  has  been  supposed 
in  other  nationalities,  and  the  priesthood  was  by  no 
means  supreme  in  the  Hebrew  State.' 

Constantly  the  title  occurs  in  the  Hebrew  Scrip- 
tures, of  '  the  Lord's  people,'  with  appeals  to  Jehovah 
as  their  Supreme  Governor,  Protector,  and  Judge. 
And  so  it  is  with  polytheistic  nations ;  they  are  the 
ofispring  of  the  gods ;  the  deities  are  their  guides  and 
guardians,  the  authors  of  their  laws  and  customs  j 
whose  worship  is  interwoven  with  the  whole  course  of 
jDolitical  and  social  life.  It  will  of  course  be  said,  the 
entire  diiference  is  no  more  than  this — the  object  of 
worship  in  the  one  case  was  the  true  God,  in  the  other 


*  Previous  to  the  time  of  the  divided  kingdom,  the  Jewish  history  pre- 
sents little  which  is  thoroughly  reliable.  The  taking  of  Jerusalem  by 
'  Shishak  '  is  lor  the  Hebrew  history  that  which  the  sacking  of  Rome  by 
the  Gauls  is  for  the  Roman.  And  from  no  facts  ascertainable  is  it  possible 
to  infer  there  was  any  earh'  period  during  which  the  Government  by 
the  priesthood  was  attended  with  success.  Indeed  the  greater  pro- 
bability seems  on  the  side  of  the  supposition,  that  the  priesthood,  with 
its  distinct  offices  and  charge,  was  constituted  by  Royalty,  and  that  the 
higher  pretensions  of  the  priests  were  not  advanced  till  the  reign  of  Josiah. 
There  is  no  evidence  of  the  priesthood  ever  having  claimed  a  supremacy 
over  the  kings,  as  if  it  had  been  in  possession  of  an  oracular  power ;  in 
the  earlier  monarchy  the  kings  olier  sacrifice,  and  the  rudiments  of  a 
political  and  religious  organization,  which  prevailed  in  the  period  of  the 
Judges,  cannot  be  appealed  to  as  pre-eminentl}'  a  theocracy.  At  any  rate, 
nothing  could  be  more  unsuccessful,  as  a  government,  whatever  it  might 
be  called.  Indeed,  the  theory-  of  the  Jewish  theocracy  seems  built  chiefly 
upon  some  expressions  in  i  Sam.  viii.,  xii.  Samuel,  however,  with  whose 
government  the  Israelites  were  dissatisfied,  was  not  a  priest  but  a  prophet ; 
and  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  narrative  is  conceived  in  the  prophetical, 
not  iu  the  priestly  interest. 


\   U'-    C4t^^ 


..ty^^'^^^ 


The  National  Church.  171 

cases  idols  or  demons.  But  it  is  very  clear  to  unpre- 
judiced persons,  that  the  conceptions  which  the 
Hebrews  formed  of  Jehovah,  though  far  superior  to 
the  conceptions  embodied  in  any  other  national  reli- 
gion, were  obscured  by  figurative  representations  of 
Him  in  accordance  with  the  character  of  His  wor- 
shippers. The  passions  ascribed  to  Him  were  not  those 
most  base  and  degrading  ones  attributed  to  their 
deities  by  the  pagans ;  and  on  that  account  it  has  been 
less  easy  to  separate  tliQ  figurative  description  from 
the  true  idea  of  Him.  The  better  pagans  could  easily 
perceive  the  stories  of  their  gods  to  have  been,  at  the 
best,  allegories,  poetical  embellishments,  inventions  of 
some  kind  or  other.  Jews  did  not  perceive  that  the 
attribution  of  wrath  and  jealousy  to  their  God  could 
only  be  by  a  figure  of  speech  ;  and  what  is  worse,  it  is 
difficult  to  persuade  many  Christians  of  the  same 
thing,  and  solemn  inferences  from  the  figurative  ex- 
pressions of  the  Hebrew  literature  have  been  crystal- 
lized into  Christian  doctrine. 

All  things  sanctioned  among  the  Jews  are  certainly 
not  be  imitated  by  us,  nor  all  pagan  institutions  to 
be  abhorred.  In  respect  of  a  State  religion,  Jew  and 
Gentile  were  more  alike  than  has  been  thought.  All  | 
nations  have  exhibited,  in  some  form  or  another,  the ' 
development  of  a  public  religion,  and  have  done  so  by 
reason  of  tendencies  inherent  in  their  nationality. 
The  jDarticular  form  of  the  religion  has  been  due  to 
various  causes.  Also  in  periods  of  transition  there 
would,  for  a  time,  be  a  breaking  in  upon  this  feature 
of  national  life.  While  prophets,  philosophers,  re- 
formers, were  at  work,  or  some  new  principle  winning 
its  way,  the  national  uniformity  would  be  disturbed. 
So  it  was  at  the  first  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  St. 
Paul,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  himself,  oft'ered  it  to  the 
Jews  as  a  nation,  on  the  multitudinist  principle ;  but 
when  they  put  it  from  them,  it  must  make  pro- 
gress by   kindling  a  fire   in  the   earth,  even   to  the 


172  Tlie  National  Church. 

dividing  families,  two  against  tlaree  and  three  against 
two.  Thereupon  Christians  appear  for  a  while  to  be 
aliens  from  their  countries  and  commonwealths,  but 
only  for  a  while.  We  must  not  confound  with  an 
essential  principle  of  Christianit}''  that  which  only  re- 
sulted from  a  temporary  necessity.  The  individualist 
principle  may  have  been  the  right  one  for  a  time,  and 
under  certain  circumstances,  not  consequently  the 
right  one,  under  all  circumstances,  nor  even  the  pos- 
sible one.  In  this  question,,  as  in  that  of  hierarchy, 
and  in  various  ceremonial  discussions,  the  appeal  to  a 
particular  primitive  antiquity  is  only  an  appeal  from 
the  whole  experience  of  Christendom  to  a  partial  ex- 
perience limited  to  a  short  period.  Moreover,  as  to  the 
mind  of  Jesus  himself  with  respect  to  Nationalism  it  is 
fully  revealed  in  those  touching  words,  preserved  both 
in  the  first  and  third  Grospels,  'How  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth 
her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not.' 

Christianity  was  therefore  compelled,  as  it  were 
against  its  will,  and  in  contradiction  to  its  proper 
design,  to  make  the  first  steps  in  its  progress  by  cut- 
ting across  old  societies,  filtering  into  the  world  by 
individual  conversions,  showing,  nevertheless,  from 
the  very  first  its  multidudinist  tendencies  ;  and  before 
it  could  comprehend  countries  or  cities,  embracing 
families  and  households,  the  several  members  of  which 
must  have  been  on  very  different  spiritual  levels  (Acts 
xvi.  31-34).  The  Koman  world  was  penetrated  in  the 
first  instancebyan  individual  and  domestic  Christianity, 
to  which  was  owing  the  first  conversion  of  our  own 
country;  in  the  second  or  Saxon  conversion,  the  people 
were  Christianized  en  masse.  Such  conversions  as  this 
last  may  not  be  thought  to  have  been  worth  much,  but 
they  were  worth  the  abolition  of  some  of  the  grossness 
of  idolatry  ;  they  effected  all  of  which  the  subjects  of 
them  were  for  the  time  capable,  and  prepared  the  way 
for  something  better  in  another  generation.     The  con- 


The  National  Church.  175 

versions  operated  by  the  German  Apostle,  Boniface, 
were  of  tlie  same  multitudinous  kind  as  those  of  Austin 
and  Paulinus  in  Britain,  and  for  a  like  reason  ;  in  both 
cases  the  development  of  Christianity  necessarily  fol- 
lowed the  forms  of  the  national  life. 

In  some  parts  of  the  West  this  national  and  natural 
tendency  was  counteracted  by  the  shattering  which 
ensued  upon  the  breaking  up  of  the  Homan  empire. 
And  in  those  countries  especially  which  had  been 
longest  and  most  closely  .connected  with  Pagan  Eome, 
such  as  Italy  itself,  Spain,  France,  the  people  felt 
themselves  unable  to  stand  alone  in  their  sjDiritual  in- 
stitutions, and  were  glad  to  lean  on  some  other  prop 
and  centre,  so  far  as  was  still  allowed  them.  The 
Teutonic  Churches  were  always  more  free  than  the 
Churches  of  the  Latinized  peoples,  though  they  them- 
selves had  derived  their  Christianity  from  Boman  Mis- 
sionaries ;  and  among  the  Teutonic  Churches  alone  has 
a  freedom  from  extraneous  dominion  as  yet  established 
itself.  For  a  time  even  these  could  only  adopt  the 
forms  of  doctrine  and  practice  which  were  current  in 
other  parts  of  the  West.  But  those  forms  were  neither 
of  the  essence  of  a  national  Church,  nor  even  of  the 
essence  of  a  Christian  Church.  A  national  Church  need 
not,  historically  speaking,  be  Christian,  much  less,  if  it 
be  Christian,  need  it  be  tied  down  to  particular  forms 
which  have  been  prevalent  at  certain  times  in  Christen- 
dom. That  which  is  essential  to  a  national  Church  is, 
that  it  should  undertake  to  assist  the  spiritual  pro-  ^ 
gress  of  the  nation  and  of  the  individuals  of  which  it 
is  composed,  in  their  several  states  and  stages.  Not  , 
even  a  Christian  Church  should  expect  all  those 
who  are  brought  under  its  influence  to  be,  as  a  matter  ./ 
of  fact,  of  one  and  the  same  standard,  but  should  en-  ^ 
deavour  to  raise  each  according  to  his  capacities,  and 
should  give  no  occasion  for  reactions  against  itself, 
nor  provoke  the  individualist  element  into  separatism. 
It  would  do  this  if  it  submitted  to  define  itself  other- 


174  The  National  Church. 

wise  than  by  its  own  nationality — if  it  represented 
itself  as  a  part  rather  than  a  whole,  as  deriving  autho- 
rity and  not  claiming  it,  as  imitative  and  not  original. 
It  will  do  this  also,  if  while  the  civil  side  of  the 
nation  is  fluid,  the  ecclesiastical  side  of  it  is  fixed ;  if 
thought  and  speech  are  free  among  all  other  classes, 
and  not  free  among  those  who  hold  the  office  of 
leaders  and  teachers  of  the  rest  in  the  highest  things ; 
if  they  are  to  be  bound  to  cover  up  instead  of 
opening ;  and  having,  it  is  presumed,  possession  of 
the  key  of  knowledge,  are  to  stand  at  the  door  with 
it,  permitting  no  one  to  enter  unless  by  force.  A 
national  Church  may  also  find  itself  in  this  position, 
which,  perhaps,  is  our  own.  Its  ministers  may  become 
isolated  between  two  other  parties — between  those  on 
the  one  hand  who  draw  fanatical  inferences  from 
formularies  and  principles  which  they  themselves  are 
not  able  or  are  unwilling  to  repudiate ;  and  on  the 
other,  those  who  have  been  tempted,  in  impatience  of 
old  fetters,  to  follow  free  thought  heedlessly  wherever 
it  may  lead  them.  If  our  own  Churchmen  expect  to 
discourage  and  repress  a  fanatical  Christianity,  with- 
out a  frank  appeal  to  reason,  and  a  frank  criticism  of 
Scripture,  they  will  find  themselves  without  any 
effectual  arms  for  that  combat ;  or  if  they  attempt 
to  check  inquiry  by  the  repetition  of  old  forms 
and  denunciations,  they  will  be  equally  powerless, 
and  run  the  especial  risk  of  turning  into  bitter- 
ness the  sincerity  of  those  who  should  be  their  best 
allies,  as  friends  of  truth.  They  should  avail 
themselves  of  the  aid  of  all  reasonable  persons 
for  enlightening  the  fanatical  religionist,  making 
no  reserve  of  any  seemingly  harmless  or  apparently 
serviceable  superstitions  of  their  own  ;  they  should 
also  endeavour  to  supply  to  the  negative  theologian 
some  positive  elements  in  Christianity,  on  grounds 
more  sure  to  him  than  the  assumption  of  an  objective 
'  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,'  which  he  cannot 


Tlie  National  Church.  175 

identify  witli  the  creed  of  any  Church,  as  yet  known 
to  him. 

It  has  heen  matter  of  great  boast  within  the 
Church  of  Enghmd,  in  common  with  other  Protestant 
Churches,  that  it  is  founded  upon  the  *  Word  of  God,' 
a  phrase  which  begs  many  a  question  when  appHed  col- 
lectively to  the  books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
a  phrase  which  is  never  so  applied  to  them  by  any  of 
the  Scriptural  authors,  and  which,  according  to  Protes- 
tant principles,  never  could  be  applied  to  them  by  any 
sufficient  autliority  from  without.  In  that  which  may 
be  considered  the  pivot  Article  of  the  Church  this 
expression  does  not  occur,  but  only  '  Holy  Scrip- 
ture,' '  Canonical  Books,'  '  Old  and  New  Testaments.' 
It  contains  no  declaration  of  the  Bible  being:  throusrh- 
out  supernaturally  suggested,  nor  any  intimation  as 
to  which  portions  of  it  were  owing  to  a  special  divine 
illumination,  nor  the  slightest  attempt  at  defining 
inspiration,  whetlier  mediate  or  immediate,  whether 
through,  or  beside,  or  overruling  the  natural  faculties 
of  the  subject  of  it, — not  the  least  hint  of  the  relation 
between  the  divine  and  human  elements  in  the  com- 
position of  the  Biblical  books.  Even  if  the  Fathers 
have  usually  considered  '  canonical '  as  synonymous 
with  '  miraculously  inspired,'  there  is  nothing  to 
show  that  their  sense  of  the  word  must  necessarily 
be  applied  in  our  own  sixth  Article.  The  word  itself 
may  mean  either  books  ruled  and  determined  by  the 
Church,  or  regulative  books ;  and  the  employment  of 
it  in  the  Article  hesitates  between  these  two  significa- 
tions. For  at  one  time  '  Holy  Scripture'  and  canoni- 
cal books  are  those  books  '  of  whose  authority  never 
was  any  doubt  in  the  Church,'^  that  is,  they  are  '  de- 


'  This  clause  is  taken  from  the  Wirteraburg  Confession  (1552),  which 
proceeds :  '  Hanc  Scripturam  crediraus  et  confiteraur  esse  oraculura 
Spiritus  Sancti,  cselestibus  testimoniis  ita  confirmatum,  ut  ISi  Angelus  de 
ccelo  uliud prcedicaverit,  anatheina  sit' 


176  The  National  Church 

termined'  books ;  and  then  the  other,  or  uncanonical 
books,  are  described  as  those  which  *  the  Church  doth 
not  apply  to  establish  any  doctrine,'  that  is,  they  are 
not  *  regulative'  books.  And  if  the  other  principal 
Churches  of  the  Reformation  have  gone  farther  in 
definition  in  this  respect  than  our  own,  that  is  no 
reason  we  should  force  the  silence  of  our  Church  into 
unison  with  their  expressed  declarations,  but  rather 
that  we  should  rejoice  in  our  comparative  freedom.^ 

The  Protestant  feeling  among  us  has  satisfied  itself 
in  a  blind  way  with  the  anti-Roman  declaration,  that 
*Holy  Scripture  containeth  all  things  necessary  to 
salvation,  so  that  whatsoever  is  not  read  therein,  nor 
may  be  proved  thereby,  is  not  to  be  required  of  any 
man,  that  it  should  be  believed  as  an  article  of  the 
faith,'  &c.,  and  without  reflecting  how  very  much  is 
wisely  left  open  in  that  Article.  For  this  declaration 
itself  is  partly  negative  and  partly  positive ;  as  to  its 
negative  part  it  declares  that  nothing — no  clause  of 
creed,  no  decision  of  council,  no  tradition  or  exposi- 
i  tion — is  to  be  required  to  be  believed  on  peril  of  salva- 
\  tion,  unless  it  be  Scriptural ;  but  it  does  not  lay  down, 
'  that  everything  which  is  contained  in  Scripture  must 
be  believed  on  the  same  peril.  Or  it  may  be  expressed 
thus : — the  Word  of  God  is  contained  in  Scripture, 
whence  it  does  not  follow  that  it  is  co-extensive  with  it. 
The  Church  to  which  we  belong  does  not  put  that  stum- 
bling block  before  the  feet  of  her  members ;  it  is  their 
own  fault  if  they  place  it  there  for  themselves,  authors 
of  their  own  oflence.  Under  the  terms  of  the  sixth 
f   Article  one  may  accept  literally,  or  allegorically,  or  as 


'  Thus  the  Helvetic  Confession  states  :  '  We  believe  and  profess  that  the 
Canonical  Scriptures  of  the  Holy  Prophets  and  Apostles,  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  are  the  very  Word  of  God,  and  have  sufficient  authority 
from  themselves  and  not  i'rom  men.'  The  Saxon  Confession  refers  to 
the  creeds  as  interpreters  of  Scripture — nos  vera  fideamplecti  omnia  scripta 
Prophetarum  et  Apostolorura  ;  et  quidem  in  hac  ipsa  nativa  sententia, 
quae  expressa  est  in  Syniholis,  Apostolico,  Nicieno  et  Athanasiauo. — De 
Doctrind. 


'yi'^'-r 


The  National  Church.  \11 

parable,  or  poetry,  or  legend,  the  story  of  a  serpent 
tempter,  of  an  ass  speaking  with  man's  voice,  of  an 
arresting  of  the  earth's  motion,  of  a  reversal  of  its 
motion,  of  waters  standing  in  a  solid  heap,  of  witches, 
and  a  variety  of  apparitions.  So,  under  the  terms  of 
the  sixth  Article,  every  one  is  free  in  judgment  as  to 
the  primeval  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  the  univer-  J^j\'s  ^^ 
sality  of  the  deluge,  the  confusion  of  tongues,  the  cor-  ^  ' 
poreal  taking  up  of  Elijah  into  Heaven,  the  nature  of 
angels,  the  reality  of  demoniacal  possession,  the  person- 
ality of  Satan,  and  the  miraculous  particulars  of  many 
events.  So  the  dates  and  authorship  of  the  several  books 
received  as  canonical  are  not  determined  by  any  autho- 
rity, nor  their  relative  value  and  importance. 

Many  evils  have  flowed  to  the  people  of  England, 
otherwise  free  enough,  from  an  extreme  and  too  ex- 
clusive Scripturalism.  The  rudimentary  education  of 
a  large  number  of  our  countrymen  has  been  mainly 
carried  on  by  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures.  They 
are  read  by  young  children  in  thousands  of  cases, 
where  no  attempt  could  be  made,  even  if  it  were  de- 
sired, to  accompany  the  reading  with  the  safeguard  of 
a  reasonable  interpretation.  A  Protestant  tradition 
seems  to  have  prevailed,  unsanctioned  by  any  of  our 
formularies,  that  the  words  of  Scripture  are  imbued  v? 
with  a  supernatural  property,  by  which  their  true  sense 
can  reveal  itself  even  to  those  who,  by  intellectual  or 
educational  defect,  would  naturally  be  incapable  of  ap- 
preciating it.  There  is  no  book  indeed,  or  collection  of 
books,  so  rich  in  words  which  address  themselves  in- 
telligibly to  the  unlearned  and  learned  alike.  But  those 
who  are  able  to  do  so  ought  to  lead  the  less  educated  to 
distinguish  between  the  different  kinds  of  words  which 
it  contains,  between  the  dark  patches  of  human  passion 
and  error  which  form  a  partial  crust  upon  it,  and  the 
bright  centre  of  spiritual  truth  within. 

Some  years  ago  a  vehement  controversy  was  carried 
on,  whether  the  Scripture  ought  to  be  distributed  in  this 

N 


178  The  National  Church. 

country  with  or  witliont  note  and  comment.  It  was 
a  question  at  issue  between  two  great  parties  and  two 
great  organized  societies.  But  those  who  advocated 
the  view  which  was  the  more  reasonable  in  itself,  did 
so  in  the  interest  of  an  unreasonable  theory ;  they  in- 
sisted on  the  authority  of  the  Church  in  an  hierarchi- 
cal sense,  and  carried  out  their  commentations  in  dry 
catenas  of  doctrine  and  precept.  On  the  other  side, 
the  views  of  those  who  were  for  circulating  the  Bible 
without  note  or  comment  were  partly  superstitious, 
and  partly  antagonistic  in  the  way  of  a  protest 
against  the  hierarchical  claim.  The  Scriptures  have 
no  doubt  been  received  with  sufficient  readiness  by  all 
classes  of  English  people,  for  there  has  been  something 
very  agreeable  to  some  of  the  feelings  of  the  English- 
man in  the  persuasion  that  he  possesses,  independently 
of  priest  or  clergyman,  the  whole  matter  of  his  religion 
bound  up  in  the  four  corners  of  a  portable  book, 
furnishing  him,  as  he  thinks,  with  an  infallible  test 
of  the  doctrine  which  he  hears  from  his  preacher,  with 
a  substitute  for  all  teaching,  if  he  so  pleases,  and 
with  the  complete  apparatus  necessary,  should  he 
desire  to  become  the  teacher  of  others  in  his  turn. 
But  the  result  of  this  immense  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  for  many  years  by  all  parties,  has  been 
little  adequate  to  what  might  have  been  expected 
beforehand,  from  the  circulation  of  that  which  is  in 
itself  so  excellent  and  divine. 

It  is  ill  to  be  deterred  from  giving  expression  to  the 
truth  or  from  prosecuting  the  investigation  of  it,  from 
a  fear  of  making  concessions  to  revolutionary  or  cap- 
tious dispositions.  For  the  blame  of  this  captiousness, 
when  it  exists,  lies  in  part  at  the  door  of  those  who 
ignore  the  difficulties  of  others,  because  they  may  not 
feel  any  for  themselves.  To  this  w^ant  of  wisdom  on 
the  part  of  the  defenders  of  old  opinions  is  to  be 
attributed,  that  the  noting  of  such  differences  as  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Evangelical  narratives,  or  in  the 


The  National  Church.  170 

books  of  Kings  and  Clironicles,  takes  the  appearance  of 
an  attack  upon  a  lioly  thing.  The  hke  ill  consequences 
follow  from  not  acknowledging  freely  the  extent  of  the 
human  element  in  the  sacred  books ;  for  if  this  were 
freely  acknowledged  on  the  one  side,  the  di\nne  element 
would  be  frankly  recognised  on  the  other.  Grood  men — 
and  they  cannot  be  good  without  the  Spirit  of  God — 
may  err  in  facts,  be  weak  in  memory,  mingle  imagi- 
nation with  memory,  be  feeble  in  inferences,  confound 
illustration  with  argument,  be  varying  in  judgment  and 
opinion.  But  the  Spirit  ol"  absolute  Truth  cannot  err 
or  contradict  Himself,  if  He  speak  immediately,  even 
in  small  things,  accessories,  or  accidents.  Still  less  can 
we  suppose  Him  to  suggest  contradictory  accounts,  or 
accounts  only  to  be  reconciled  in  the  way  of  hypothesis 
and  conjecture.  Some  things  indited  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  may  appear  to  relate  to  objects  of  which  the 
whole  cannot  be  embraced  by  the  human  intellect, 
and  it  may  not,  as  to  such  objects,  be  possible  to 
reconcile  opposite  sides  of  Divine  truth.  Whether 
this  is  the  general  character  of  Scripture  revelations 
is  not  now  the  question ;  but  the  theory  is  supposable 
and  should  be  treated  with  respect,  in  regard  to  some 
portions  of  Scripture.  To  suppose,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  supernatural  influence  to  cause  the  record  of  that 
which  can  only  issue  in  a  puzzle,  is  to  lower  infinitely 
our  conception  of  the  Divine  dealings  in  respect  of  a 
special  revelation. 

Thus  it  may  be  attributed  to  the  defect  of  our 
understandings,  that  we  should  be  unable  altogether 
to  reconcile  the  aspects  of  the  Saviour  as  presented  to 
us  in  the  three  first  Grospels,  and  in  the  writings  of  St. 
Paul  and  St.  John.  At  any  rate,  there  were  current 
in  the  primitive  Church  very  distinct  Christologies. 
But  neither  to  any  defect  in  our  capacities,  nor  to 
any  reasonable  presumption  of  a  hidden  wise  design, 
nor  to  any  partial  spiritual  endowments  in  the  narra- 
tors, can  we  attribute  the  difficulty,  if  not  impossi- 

N    2 


180  The  National  Church. 

bilit}^,  of  reconciling  the  genealogies  of  St.  Matthew 
and  St.  Lute,  or  the  chronology  of  the  Holy  Week, 
or  the  accounts  of  the  Resurrection ;  nor  to  any 
mystery  in  the  subject-matter  can  be  referred  the 
uncertainty  in  which  the  New  Testament  writings 
leave  us,  as  to  the  descent  of  Jesus  Christ  according 
to  the  flesh,  whether  by  his  mother  He  were  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah,  or  of  the  tribe  of  Levi. 

If  the  national  Church  is  to  be  true  to  the  multitu- 
dinist  principle,  and  to  correspond  ultimately  to  the 
national  character,  the  freedom  of  opinion  which 
belong-s  to  the  Ensrlish  citizen  should  be  conceded  to 
the  English  Churchman ;  and  the  freedom  which  is 
already  practically  enjoyed  by  the  members  of  the 
congregation,  cannot  without  injustice  be  denied  to 
its  ministers.  A  minister  may  rightly  be  expected  to 
know  more  of  theology  than  the  generality,  or  even 
than  the  best  informed  of  the  laity  ;  but  it  is  a  strange 
ignoring  of  the  constitution  of  human  minds,  to  expect 
all  ministers,  however  much  they  may  know,  to  be  of 
one  opinion  in  theoreticals,  or  the  same  person  to  be 
subject  to  no  variation  of  opinion  at  different  periods 
of  his  life.  And  it  may  be  worth  while  to  consider 
how  far  a  liberty  of  opinion  is  conceded  by  our  exist- 
ing laws,  civil  and  ecclesiastical.  Along  with  great 
openings  for  freedom  it  will  be  found  there  are  some 
restraints,  or  appearances  of  restraints,  which  require 
to  be  removed. 

As  far  as  opinion  privately  entertained  is  concerned, 
the  liberty  of  the  English  clergyman  appears  already 
to  be  complete.  For  no  ecclesiastical  person  can  be 
obliged  to  answer  interrogations  as  to  his  opinions, 
nor  be  troubled  for  that  which  he  has  not  actually 
expressed,  nor  be  made  responsible  for  inferences  which 
other  people  may  draw  from  his  expressions.^ 

Still,  though  there  may  be  no  power  of  inquisition 

'  The  oath  ex  officio  in  the  ecclesiastical  law,  is  defined  to  be  an  oath 
whereby  any  person  nia}'^  be  obliged  to  make  any  presentment  of  any 
crime  or  offence,  or  to  confess  or  accuse  himself  or  herself  of  any  criminal 


The  National  Church.  181 

into  tlie  private  opinions  either  of  ministers  or  people 
in  the  Churcli  of  Eng-hxnd,  there  may  be  some  inter- 
ference with  the  expression  of  them  ;  and  a  great 
restraint  is  supposed  to  be  imposed  upon  the  clergy 
by  reason  of  their  subscription  to  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles.  Yet  it  is  more  difficult  than  might  be 
expected,  to  define  what  is  tlie  extent  of  the  legal 
obligation  of  those  who  sign  them  ;  and  in  this 
case  the  strictly  legal  obligation  is  the  measure  of 
the  moral  one.  Subscription  may  be  thought  even 
to  be  inoperative  upon  the  conscience  by  reason  of  its 
vagueness.  For  the  act  of  subscription  is  enjoined, 
but  its  effect  or  meaning  nowhere  plainly  laid  down ; 
and  it  does  not  seem  to  amount  to  more  than  an 
acceptance  of  the  Articles  of  the  Church  as  the  formal 
law  to  which  the  subscriber  is  in  some  sense  subject. 
What  that  subjection  amounts  to,  must  be  gathered 
elsewhere,  for  it  does  not  appear  on  the  face  of  the 
subscription  itself. 

The  ecclesiastical  authority  on  the  subject  is  to  be 


matter  or  thing,  whereby  he  or  she  may  be  liable  to  any  censure,  penalty, 
or  punishment  whatsoever.  4  Jac.  '  The  lords  of  the  council  at  White- 
hall demanded  of  Popham  and  Coke,  chief  justices,  upon  motion  made  by 
the  Commons  in  Parliament,  in  what  cases  the  ordinary  may  examine  any 
person  ex  officio  upon  oath.'  They  answered — i.  That  the  ordinary  can- 
not constrain  any  man,  ecclesiastical  or  temporal,  to  swear  generally  to 
answer  such  interrogations  as  shall  be  administered  to  him,  &c.  2.  That 
no  man,  ecclesiastical  or  temporal,  shall  be  examined  upon  the  secret 
thoughts  of  his  heart,  or  of  his  secret  opinion,  but  something  ought  to  be 
objected  against  him,  which  he  hath  spoken  or  done.  Thus  13  Jac. 
Dighton  and  Holt  were  committed  by  the  high  commissioners  because  they 
being  convented  for  slanderous  words  against  the  book  of  Common  Prayer 
and  the  government  of  the  Church,  and  being  tendered  the  oath  to  be 
examined,  they  refused.  The  case  being  brought  before  the  K.B.  on  habeas 
corpus,  Coke,  C.J.,  gave  the  determination  of  the  Court.  '  That  they 
ought  to  be  delivered,  because  their  examination  is  made  to  cause  them  to 
accuse  themselves  of  a  breach  of  penal  law,  which  is  against  law,  for 
they  ought  to  proceed  against  them  by  witnesses,  and  not  inforce  them  to 
take  an  oath  to  accuse  themselves.'  Then  by  13  Car.  3,  c.  12,  it  was 
enacted,  'that  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  any  person,  exercising  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction,  to  tender  or  administer  to  any  person  whatsoever  the  oath 
usually  called  the  oath  ex-officio,  or  any  other  oath,  whereby  such  person 
to  whom  the  same  is  tendered,  or  administered,  may  be  charged,  or  com- 
pelled to  confess,  or  accuse,  or  to  purge  himself,  or  herself,  of  any  criminal 
matter  or  thing,'  &c. — Burn's  Eccl.  Law/ui.  14,  15.     Ed.  Phillimore. 


182  The  National  Church. 

found  in  the  Canons  of  1603,  the  fifth  and  the  thirty- 
sixtli.  The  fifth,  indeed,  may  be  applicable  theoreti- 
cally both  to  lay  and  to  ecclesiastical  persons ;  practi- 
cally it  can  only  concern  those  of  whom  subscription  is 
really  required.  It  is  entitled,  Impufjners  of  the  Articles 
of  Religion  established  in  this  Church  of  England  censured. 
'  Whosoever  shall  hereafter  affirm,  that  any  of  the  nine 
and  thirt}^  articles,  &c.,  are  in  any  part  superstitious 
or  erroneous,  or  such  as  he  may  not  with  a  good  con- 
science subscribe  unto,  let  him  be  excommunicated, 
&c.'  We  need  not  stay  to  consider  what  the  effects  of 
excommunication  might  be,  but  rather  attend  to  the 
definition  which  the  canon  itself  supplies  of  '  impugn- 
ing.' It  is  stated  to  be  the  affirming,  that  any  of  the 
Thirty-nine  Articles  are  in  any  part  '  superstitious  or 
erroneous.'  Yet  an  Article  may  be  very  inexpedient, 
or  become  so ;  may  be  unintelligible,  or  not  easily 
intelligible  to  ordinary  people  ;  it  may  be  controversial, 
and  such  as  to  provoke  controversy  and  keep  it  alive 
when  otherwise  it  would  subside ;  it  may  revive  un- 
necessarily the  remembrance  of  dead  controversies — all 
or  any  of  these,  without  being  '  erroneous  ;'  and  though 
not  '  superstitious,'  some  expressions  may  appear  so, 
such  as  those  which  seem  to  impute  an  occult  opera- 
tion to  the  Sacraments.  The  fifth  canon  does  not  touch 
the  affirming  any  of  these  things,  and  more  especially, 
that  the  Articles  present  truths  disproportionately, 
and  relatively  to  ideas  not  now  current. 

The  other  canon  which  concerns  subscription  is  the 
thirty-sixth,  which  contains  two  clauses  explanatory 
to  some  extent,  of  the  meaning  of  ministerial  sub- 
scription, '  That  he  alloioeth  the  Book  of  Articles,  &c.' 
and  '  that  he  acknowledgeih  the  same  to  be  agreeable 
to  the  Word  of  God.'  We  '  allow  '  many  things  which 
we  do  not  think  wise  or  practically  useful ;  as  the  less 
of  two  evils,  or  an  evil  which  cannot  be  remedied,  or 
of  which  the  remedy  is  not  attainable,  or  is  uncertain 
in  its  operation,  or  is  not  in  our  power,  or  concerning 
which  there  is  much  difi'erence  of  opinion,  or  where 


The  National  ChurcJi.  183 

the  initiation  of  any  change  does  not  belong  to  our- 
selves, nor  the  responsibility  belong  to  ourselves, 
either  of  the  things  as  they  are,  or  of  searching  for 
something  better.  Many  acquiesce  in,  submit  to, 
'  allow,'  a  law  as  it  operates  upon  themselves  which 
they  would  be  horror-struck  to  have  enacted ;  yet 
they  would  gladly  and  in  conscience,  *  allow '  and 
submit  to  it,  as  part  of  a  constitution  under  which 
they  live,  against  which  they  would  never  think  of 
rebelling,  which  they  would  on  no  account  undermine, 
for  the  many  blessings  of  which  they  are  fully  grate- 
ful— they  would  be  silent  and  patient  rather  than 
join,  even  in  appearance,  the  disturbers  and  breakers 
of  its  laws.  Secondly,  he  '  acknowledgeth'  the  same 
to  be  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.  Some  distinc- 
tions may  be  founded  upon  the  word  '  acknowledge.* 
He  does  not  maintain,  nor  regard  it  as  self-evident,  nor 
originate  it  as  his  own  feeling,  spontaneous  opinion, 
or  conviction ;  but  when  it  is  suggested  to  him,  put 
in  a  certain  shape,  when  the  intention  of  the  framers 
is  borne  in  mind,  their  probable  purpose  and  design 
explained,  together  with  the  difhculties  which  sur- 
rounded them,  he  is  not  prepared  to  contradict,  and 
he  acknowledges.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said, 
which  had  not  at  first  occurred  to  him ;  many  other 
better  and  wiser  men  than  himself  have  acknowledged 
the  same  thing — why  should  he  be  obstinate  ?  Besides, 
he  is  3^oung,  and  has  plenty  of  time  to  reconsider  it ; 
or  he  is  old  and  continues  to  submit  out  of  habit,  and 
it  would  be  too  absurd,  at  his  time  of  life,  to  be  setting 
up  as  a  Church  reformer. 

But  after  all,  the  important  phrase  is,  that  the 
Articles  are  '  agreeable  to  the  Word  of  God.'  This 
cannot  mean  that  the  Articles  are  precisely  co-ex- 
tensive with  the  Bible,  much  less  of  equal  authority 
with  it  as  a  whole.  Neither  separately,  nor  alto- 
gether, do  they  embody  all  which  is  said  in  it,  and 
inferences  which  they  draw  from  it  are  only  good 
relatively  and  secundum  quid  and  quatenus  concordant. 


184  The  National  Church. 

If  their  terms  are  Biblical  terms,  tliey  must  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  the  same  sense  in  the  Articles  which 
they  have  in  the  Scripture ;  and  if  they  are  not  all 
Scriptural  ones,  they  undertake  in  the  pivot  Article  not 
to  contradict  the  Scripture.  The  Articles  do  not  make 
any  assumption  of  being  interpretations  of  Scripture 
or  developments  of  it.  The  greater  must  include  the 
less,  and  the  Scripture  is  the  greater. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  may  be  some  things  in 
the  Articles  which  could  not  be  contained,  or  have  not 
been  contained,  in  the  Scripture — such  as  propositions 
or  clauses  concerning  historical  facts  more  recent  than 
the  Scripture  itself ;  for  instance,  that  there  never  has 
been  any  doubt  in  the  Church  concerning  the  books 
of  the  New  Testament.  For  without  including'  such 
doubts  as  a  fool  might  have,  or  a  very  conceited  per- 
son, without  carrying  doubts  founded  upon  mere  cri- 
ticism and  internal  evidence  only,  to  such  an  extent 
as  a  Baur  or  even  an  Ewald,  there  was  a  time  when 
certain  books  existed  and  certain  others  were  not  as 
yet  written  ; — for  example,  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 
were  anterior,  probably  to  all  of  the  Grospels,  certainly 
to  that  of  St.  John,  and  of  course  the  Church  could 
not  receive  without  doubt  books  not  as  yet  composed. 
But  as  the  canon  grew,  book  after  book  emerging  into 
existence  and  general  reception,  there  were  doubts  as 
to  some  of  them,  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period,  either 
concerning  their  authorship  or  their  authority.  The 
framers  of  the  Articles  were  not  deficient  in  learning, 
and  could  not  have  been  ignorant  of  the  passages  in 
Eusebius  where  the  different  books  current  in  Chris- 
tendom in  his  time  are  classified  as  genuine  or  acknow- 
ledged, doubtful  and  spurious.  If  there  be  an  erro- 
neousness  in  such  a  statement,  as  that  there  never  was 
any  doubt  in  the  Church  concerning  the  book  of  the 
Bevelation,  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  or  the  second 
of  St.  Peter,  it  cannot  be  an  erroneousness  in  the  sense 
of  the  fifth  canon,  nor  can  it  be  at  variance  with 
the  Word  of  God  according  to  the  thirty-sixth.     Such 


The  National  Church,  185 

things  in  tlie  Articles  as  are  beside  the  Scripture  are 
not  in  the  contemplation  of  the  canons.  Much  less  can 
historical  questions  not  even  hinted  at  in  the  Articles 
be  excluded  from  free  discussion — such  as  concern  the 
dates  and  composition  of  the  several  books,  the  com- 
pilation of  the  Pentateuch,  the  introduction  of  Daniel 
into  the  Jewish  canon,  and  the  like  with  some  books 
of  the  New  Testament — the  date  and  authorship,  for 
instance,  of  the  fourth  Gospel. 

]\Iany  of  those  who  would  themselves  wish  the 
Christian  theology  to  run  on  in  its  old  forms  of  ex- 
pression, nevertheless  deal  with  the  opinions  of  others, 
wdiich  they  may  think  objectionable,  fairly  as  opinions. 
There  will  always,  on  the  other  hand,  be  a  few  whose 
favourite  mode  of  warfare  it  will  be,  to  endeavour  to 
gain  a  victory  over  some  particular  person  who  may 
hold  opinions  they  dislike,  by  entangling  him  in  the 
formularies.  Nevertheless  our  formularies  do  not 
lend  themselves  very  easily  to  this  kind  of  warfare — 
Contra  retiariiim  haculo. 

We  have  spoken  hitherto  of  the  signification  of 
subscription  which  may  be  gathered  from  the  canons  ; 
there  is,  also,  a  statute,  a  law  of  the  land,  which  for- 
bids, under  penalties,  the  advisedly  and  directly  con- 
tradicting any  of  them  by  ecclesiastics,  and  requires 
subscription  with  declaration  of  '  assent '  from  bene- 
ficed persons.  This  statute  (13  Eliz.  c.  12),  three 
hundred  years  old,  like  many  other  old  enactments,  is 
not  found  to  be  very  applicable  to  modern  cases ; 
although  it  is  only  about  fifty  years  ago  that  it  w^as 
said  by  Sir  William  Scott  to  be  in  viridi  observantid. 
Nevertlieless,its  provisions  would  not  easily  be  brought 
to  bear  on  questions  likely  to  be  raised  in  our  own 
days.  The  meshes  are  too  open  for  modern  refine- 
ments. For  not  to  repeat  concerning  the  word  '  assent' 
what  has  been  said  concerning  '  allow'  and  '  acknow- 
ledge,' let  the  Articles  be  taken  according  to  an  ob- 
vious classification.  Forms  of  expression,  partly  derived 
from  modern  modes  of  thought  on  metaphysical  sub- 


186  TJie  National  Church. 

jects,  partly  suggested  by  a  better  acquaintance  than 
heretofore  with  the  unsettled  state  of  Christian  opinion 
in  the  immediately  post-apostolic  age,  may  be  adopted 
with  respect  to  the  doctrines  enunciated  in  the  five 
first  Articles,  without  directly  contradicting,  impugn- 
ing, or  refusing  assent  to  them,  but  passing  by  the 
side  of  them — as  with  respect  to  the  humanifjdng  of 
the  Divine  Word  and  to  the  Divine  Personalities.  Then 
those  which  we  have  called  the  pivot  Articles,  concern- 
ing the  rule  of  faith  and  the  sufficiency  of  Scripture, 
are,  happily,  found  to  make  no  effectual  provision  for 
an  absolute  uniformity,  when  once  the  freedom  of 
interpretation  of  Scripture  is  admitted ;  they  cannot 
be  considered  as  interpreting  their  own  interpreter ; 
this  has  sometimes  been  called  a  circular  proceeding ; 
it  might  be  resembled  to  a  lever  becoming  its  own 
fulcrum.  The  Articles,  again,  which  have  a  Lutheran 
and  Calvinistic  sound,  are  found  to  be  equally  open, 
because  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  founded  on  the 
very  words  of  Scripture,  and  these,  while  worthy  of 
unfeigned  assent,  are  capable  of  different  interpreta- 
tions. Indeed,  the  Calvinistic  and  Arminian  views 
have  been  declared  by  a  kind  of  authority  to  be  both 
of  them  tenable  under  the  seventeenth  Article ;  and  if 
the  Scriptural  terms  of  '  election'  and  'predestination  ' 
may  be  interpreted  in  an  anti- Calvinistic  sense, '  faith,' 
in  the  tenth  and  following  Articles,  need  not  be  un- 
derstood in  the  Lutheran,  These  are  instances  of 
legitimate  affixing  different  significations  to  terms  in 
the  Articles,  by  reason  of  different  interpretations  of 
Scriptural  passages. 

If,  however,  the  Articles  of  religion  and  the  law  of 
the  Church  of  England  be  in  effect  liberal,  flexible,  or 
little  stringent,  is  there  any  necessity  for  expressing 
dissatisfaction  with  them,  any  sufficient  provocation  to 
change  ?  There  may  be  much  more  liberty  in  a  Church 
like  our  own,  the  law  of  which  is  always  interpreted, 
according  to  the  English  spirit,  in  the  manner  most 


TJie  National  Church.  187 

fiivourable  to  those  who  are  subject  to  its  disciphne, 
than  in  one  which,  whether  free  or  not  from  Articles, 
might  be  empowered  to  develope  doctrine  and  to  de- 
nounce new  heresies.  Certainly  the  late  Mr.  Irving, 
if  he  had  been  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
could  scarcely  have  been  brought  under  the  terms  of 
any  ecclesiastical  law  of  ours,  for  the  expression  of 
opinions  upon  an  abstruse  question  respecting  the 
humanity  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  subjected  him  to  de- 
gradation in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland. 
And  this  transition  state  may  be  a  state  of  as  much 
liberty  as  the  Church  of  England  could  in  any  way  as 
yet  have  been  enabled  to  attain,  a  state  of  greater 
practical  liberty  than  has  been  attained  in  Churches 
supposed  to  be  more  free ;  it  is  a  state  of  safety  and 
protection  to  those  who  use  it  wisely,  under  which  a 
farther  freedom  may  be  prepared. 

But  it  is  not  a  state  which  ought  to  be  considered 
final,  either  by  the  Church  itself  or  by  the  nation. 
It  is  very  well  for  provisions  which  cease  to  be  easily 
applicable  to  modern  cases  to  be  suffered  to  fall  into 
desuetude,  but  after  falling  into  desuetude  they  should 
be  repealed.  Desuetude  naturally  leads  to  repeal. 
Obsolete  tests  are  a  blot  upon  a  modern  system,  and 
there  is  always  some  danger  lest  an  antiquated  rule  ^"^ 
may  be  unexpectedly  revived  for  the  sake  of  an  odious 
individual  application  ;  when  it  has  outlived  its  ge- 
neral regulative  power,  it  may  still  be  a  trap  for  the 
weaker  consciences  ;  or  when  it  has  become  powerless 
as  to  penal  consequences,  it  may  serve  to  give  a  point 
to  invidious  imputations. 

And  farther  than  this,  the  present  apparent  strin- 
gency of  subscription  as  required  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Church  of  England  does  not  belong  to  it  as  part  of  its 
foundation,  is  not  even  coeval  with  its  reconstruction 
at  the  period  of  the  Reformation.  Eor  the  Canons  are 
of  the  date  of  1603,  and  the  Act  requiring  the  public 
reading  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  with  declaration 


188  The  National  Church. 

of  assent  by  a  beneficed  person  after  his  induction, 
is  the  13th  Elizabeth.  An  enactment  prohibiting  the 
bishops  from  requiring  the  subscriptions  under  the 
third  article  of  the  thirty- sixth  canon,  together  with 
the  repeal  of  13th  Elizabeth,  except  as  to  its  second 
section,  would  relieve  many  scruples,  and  make  the 
Church  more  national,  without  disturbing  its  ultimate 
law.  The  Articles  would  then  obviously  become  for 
the  clergy  that  which  they  are  for  the  laity  of  the 
Church,  '  articles  of  peace,  not  to  be  contradicted 
by  her  sons,'  as  the  wise  and  liberal  Burnet  de- 
scribed them :  and  there  is  forcible  practical  rea- 
son for  leaving  the  Thirty -nine  Articles  as  the 
ultimate  law  of  the  Church,  not  to  be  contra- 
dicted, and  for  confining  relaxation  to  the  abolition 
of  subscription. 

A  large  portion  of  the  Articles  were  originally  di- 
rected against  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
and  whatever  may  be  thoaght  of  the  unadvisableness 
of  retaining  tests  to  exclude  opinions  which  few  think 
of  reviving  in  their  old  shape,  these  Eoman  doctrines 
and  practices  are  seen  to  be  flourishing  in  full  life  and 
vigour.  And  considering  the  many  grievous  provo- 
cations which  the  people  of  England  have  sufi'ered 
from  the  Papacy  both  in  ancient  and  modern  times, 
they  would  naturally  resist  any  change  which  might  by 
possibility  weaken  the  barriers  between  the  National 
Church  and  the  encroachments  of  the  Church  of  Eome. 
It  is  evident,  moreover,  that  the  act  of  signature  to 
the  Thirty-nine  Articles  can  contribute  but  little  to  the 
exclusion  from  the  Church  of  Romish  views.  For,  as 
it  is,  opinions  and  practices  prevail  among  some  of  the 
clergy,  which  are  extremely  distasteful  to  the  generality 
of  the  people,  by  reason  of  their  llomish  character. 
Those  of  the  Articles  which  condemn  the  Romish 
errors,  cannot  be  made  so  stringent  in  themselves  as  to 
bar  altogether  the  intrusion  of  some  opinion  of  a 
Roman  tone,  which  the  Reformers,  if  they  could  have 
foreseen  it,  might  have  desired  to  exclude,  and  which 


The  National  Church.  189 

is  equally  strange  and  repugnant  to  the  common  sense 
of  the  nation.  No  act  of  subscription  can  supply 
this  defect  of  stringency  in  the  formulas  themselves. 
Now  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure  the  advantages 
of  freedom  in  one  direction  without  making  it  equal 
as  far  as  it  goes.  We  must  endeavour  to  liberate 
ourselves  from  the  dominion  of  an  unwise  and  really 
unchristian  principle  with  the  fewest  possible  risks  and 
inconveniences. 

Considering  therefore  the  practical  difficulties  which 
would  beset  any  change,  and  especially  those  which 
would  attend,  either  the  excepting  of  the  anti-Eomish 
Articles  from  repeal  or  including  them  in  it;  any 
attempt  at  a  relaxation  of  the  clerical  test  should 
prudently  confine  itself  in  our  generation,  to  an  aboli- 
tion of  the  act  of  subscription,  leaving  the  Articles 
themselves  protected  by  the  second  section  of  the 
Statute  of  Elizabeth  and  by  the  canons,  against  direct 
contradiction  or  impugning. 

For,  the  act  of  subscription  being  abolished,  there 

would    disappear   the    invidious    distinction  between 

the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  same   communion,   as  if 

there  were  separate  standards  for  each  of  belief  and 

morals.     There  would  disappear  also  a  semblance  of 

a   promissory    oath    on    a    subject  which    a  promise 

is    incapable    of    reaching.     No    promise    can   reach 

fluctuations  of  opinion  and  personal  conviction.    Open 

teaching   can,    it    is    true,  if  it  be  thought  wise,  be 

dealt  with  by  the  law  and  its  penalties ;   but  the  law 

should   content   itself    with    saying,    you    shall    not 

teach  or  proclaim  in  derogation  of   my  formularies ; 

it    should   not     require    any   act    which    appears    to 

signify,  '  I  think.'     Let  the    security  be  either  the 

penal  or  the  moral  one,  not  a  commingling  of  the 

two.     It  happens   continually,  that  able  and  sincere 

persons  are  deterred  from  entering  the  ministry  of 

the    national    Church   by   this    consideration;    they 

would  be  willing  to  be  subject   to   the  law  forbidding 

them   to   teach   Arianism  or  Pelagianism — as  what 


190  The  National  ClmrcJi. 

sensible  man  in  our  day  would  desire  to  teach  them  ? 
— but  they  do  not  like  to  say,  or  be  thouglit  to 
say,  that  they  assent  to  a  certain  number  of  anti- 
Arian  and  anti-Pelagian  propositions.  And  the  absence 
of  vigorous  tone — not  confined  to  one  party  in  the 
Church,  which  is  to  be  lamented  of  late  years  in  its 
ministry,  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  reluctance  of  the 
4.  stronger  minds  to  enter  an  Order  in  which  their  intel- 
lects may  not  have  free  play.  The  very  course  of 
preparation  for  ordination,  tied  down  as  it  is  in  one 
department  to  the  study  of  the  Articles,  which  must 
perforce  be  proved  consentaneous  to  the  '  Word  of  God' 
according  to  some,  and  to  'Catholic  antiquity'  according 
to  others,  has  an  enervating  effect  upon  the  mind, 
which  is  compelled  to  embrace  much  scholastic  matter, 
not  as  a  history  of  doctrine,  but  as  a  system  of  truth 
of  which  it  ought  to  be  convinced. 

It  may  be  easy  to  urge  invidiously,  with  respect  to 
the  impediments  now  existing  to  undertaking  office 
in  the  national  Church,  that  there  are  other  sects, 
which  persons  dissatisfied  with  her  formularies  may 
join,  and  where  they  may  find  scope  for  their  activity 
with  little  intellectual  bondage.  Nothing  can  be  said 
here,  whether  or  not  there  might  be  elsewhere  bondage 
at  least  as  galling,  of  a  similar  or  another  kind.  But 
the  service  of  the  national  Church  may  well  be  re- 
garded in  a  different  light  from  the  service  of  a  sect. 
It  is  as  properly  an  organ  of  the  national  life  as  a 
magistracy,  or  a  legislative  estate.  To  set  barriers 
before  the  entrance  upon  its  functions,  by  limitations 
not  absolutely  required  by  public  policy,  is  to  infringe 
upon  the  birthright  of  the  citizens.  And  to  lay  down 
as  an  alternative  to  striving  for  more  liberty  of  thought 
and  expression  within  the  Churcii  of  tlie  nation,  that 
those  who  are  dissatisfied  may  sever  themselves  and 
join  a  sect,  would  be  paralleled  by  declaring  to  poli- 
tical reformers,  tliat  tliey  are  welcome  to  expatriate 
themselves,  if  they  desire  any  change  in  the  existing 


The  National  Church.  191 

forms  of  the  constitution.  The  suggestion  of  the 
alternative  is  an  insult ;  if  it  could  be  enforced,  it  would 
be  a  grievous  wrong. 

There  is  another  part  of  the  subject  which  may 
be  slightly  touched  upon  in  this  place — that  of 
the  endowment  of  the  national  Church.  This  was 
well  described  by  Mr.  Coleridge  as  the  Nation alty. 
In  a  certain  sense,  indeed,  the  nation  or  state  is  lord 
paramount  over  all  the  property  within  its  boun- 
daries. But  it  provides  for  the  usufruct  of  the  pro- 
perty in  two  different  ways.  The  usufruct  of  private 
property,  as  it  is  called,  descends,  according  to  our 
laws,  by  inheritance  or  testamentary  disposition,  and 
no  specific  services  are  attached  to  its  enjoyment. 
The  usufruct  of  that  which  Coleridge  called  the 
Nationalty  circulates  freely  among  all  the  families  of 
the  nation.  The  enjoyment  of  it  is  subject  to  the 
performance  of  special  services,  is  attainable  only  by 
the  possession  of  certain  qualifications.  In  accordance 
with  the  strong  tendency  in  England  to  turn  every 
interest  into  a  right  of  so-called  private  property,  the 
nominations  to  the  benefices  of  the  national  Church 
have  come,  by  an  abuse,  to  be  regarded  as  part  of  the 
estates  of  patrons,  instead  of  trusts,  as  they  really  are. 
No  trustee  of  any  analogous  property,  of  a  grammar- 
school  for  instance,  would  think  of  selling  his  right  of 
appointment ;  he  would  consider  the  proper  exercise  of 
the  trust  his  duty ;  much  less  would  any  court  of  law 
acknowledge  that  a  beneficial  interest  in  the  trust  pro- 
perty was  an  asset  belonging  to  the  estate  of  the  trustee. 
If  the  nomination  to  the  place  of  a  schoolmaster  ought 
to  be  considered  as  purely  fiduciary,  much  more  should 
the  nomination  of  a  spiritual  person  to  his  parochial 
charge.  Objections  are  made  against  our  own  national 
Church  founded  upon  these  anomalies,  which  may  in 
time  be  rectified.  Others  are  made  against  the  very 
principle  of  endowment. 

It  is  said,  that  a  fixed    support  of  the   minister 


192  Tlie  National  Church. 

tends  to  paralyse  both  him  and  his  people — making 
him  independent  of  liis  congregation,  and  drying  up 
their  liberality.  It  would  be  difficult,  perhaps,  to  say 
which  would  be  the  greater  evil,  for  a  minister  to  be 
in  all  things  independent  of  his  people,  or  in  all  things 
dependent  upon  them.  But  the  endowed  minister  is 
by  no  means  independent  of  all  restraints,  as,  for 
instance,  of  the  law  of  his  Church  and,  which  is  much 
more,  of  public  opinion,  especially  of  the  opinion  of  his 
own  people.  The  unendowed  minister  is  dependent 
in  all  things,  both  upon  the  opinion  of  his  people  and 
upon  their  liberality ;  and  frequent  complaints  tran- 
spire among  Nonconformists  of  the  want  of  some 
greater  fixity  in  the  position  and  sustentation  of  their 
ministers.  In  the  case  of  a  nationally  endowed  Church, 
the  people  themselves  contribute  little  or  nothing  to 
its  support.  The  Church  of  England  is  said  to  be  the 
richest  Church  in  Europe,  which  is  probably  not  true  ; 
but  its  people  contribute  less  to  its  support  than  the 
members  of  any  other  Church  in  Christendom,  whether 
established  or  voluntary.  And  if  the  contributing 
personally  to  the  support  of  the  ministry  were  the 
only  form  which  Christian  liberality  could  take,  the 
stopping  up  the  outflow  of  it  would  be  an  incalculable 
evil.  But  it  is  not  so ;  there  are  a  multitude  of  other 
objects,  even  though  the  principal  minister  in  a  parish 
or  other  locality  were  sufficiently  provided  for,  to  give 
an  outlet  for  Christian  liberality.  It  may  flow  over 
from  more  favoured  localities  where  Churches  are 
sufficiently  endowed,  into  more  destitute  districts  and 
into  distant  lands.  This  is  so  with  ourselves ;  and 
those  who  are  familiar  witli  the  statistics  of  the  nume- 
rous voluntary  societies  in  England  for  Christian  and 
philanthropic  purposes,  know  to  how  great  an  extent 
the  bulk  of  the  support  they  meet  with  is  derived 
from  the  contributions  of  churchmen.  There  is  reason 
to  think  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  means  and  willing- 
ness to  give  on  the  part  of  nonconforming  congrega- 


The  National  Church.  193 

tions  are  already  mainly  exhausted  in  making  provision 
for  their  ministers. 

Reverting  to  the  general  interest  in  the  Nationalty, 
it  is  evidently  twofold.  First,  in  the  free  circulation  of 
a  certain  portion  of  the  real  property  of  the  country,  in- 
herited not  by  blood,  nor  through  the  accident  of  birth, 
but  by  merit  and  in  requital  for  certain  performances. 
It  evidently  belongs  to  the  popular  interest,  that  this 
circulation  should  be  free  from  all  unnecessary  limi- 
tations and  restraints — speculative,  antiquarian,  and 
the  like,  and  be  regulated,  as  far  as  attainable,  by  fitness 
and  capacity  for  a  particular  public  service.  Thus 
by  means  of  the  national  endowment  there  would 
take  place  a  distribution  of  property  to  every  family 
in  the  country,  unencumbered  by  family  provisions 
at  each  succession — a  distribution  in  like  manner  of  the 
best  kind  of  education,  of  which  the  eifects  would  not 
be  worn  out  in  one  or  two  generations.  The  Church 
theoretically  is  the  most  popular,  it  might  be  said,  the 
most  democratic  of  all  our  institutions  ;  its  ministers — 
as  a  spiritual  magistracy — true  tribunes  of  the  people. 
Secondly,  the  general  interest  in  the  Nationalty  as  the 
material  means  whereby  the  highest  services  are 
obtained  for  the  general  good,  requires,  that  no  arti- 
ficial discouragements  should  limit  the  number  of  those 
who  otherwise  would  be  enabled  to  become  candidates 
for  the  service  of  the  Church — that  nothing  should  pre- 
vent the  choice  and  recruitins;  of  the  Church  ministers 
from  the  whole  of  the  citizens.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
we  find  that  nearly  one-half  of  our  population  are  at 
present  more  or  less  alienated  from  the  communion  of 
the  national  Church,  and  do  not,  therefore,  supply 
candidates  for  its  ministry.  Instead  of  securing  the 
excellences  and  highest  attainments  from  the  wliole 
of  the  people,  it  secures  them,  by  means  of  the  national 
reserve,  only  from  one-half;  the  rest  are  either  not 
drawn  up  into  the  Christian  ministry  at  all,  or  under- 
take it  in  connexion  with  schismatical  bodies,  with  as 

o 


194  The  National  Church. 

much   detriment   to   tlie   national   unity,    as   to   the 
ecclesiastical. 

We  all  know  how  the  inward  moral  life — or  spiritual 
life  on  its  moral  side,  if  that  term  be  preferred — is 
nourished  into  greater  or  less  vigour  by  means  of  the 
conditions  in  which  the  moral  subject  is  placed.  Hence, 
if  a  nation  is  really  worthy  of  the  name,  conscious  of 
its  own  corporate  life,  it  will  develope  itself  on  one  side 
into  a  Church,  wherein  its  citizens  may  grow  up  and 
be  perfected  in  their  spiritual  nature.  If  there  is 
within  it  a  consciousness  that  as  a  nation  it  is  fulfilling 
no  unimportant  office  in  the  world,  and  is,  under  the 
order  of  Providence,  an  instrument  in  giving  the 
victory  to  good  over  evil  and  to  liappiness  over  misery, 
it  will  not  content  itself  with  the  rough  adjustments 
and  rude  lessons  of  law  and  police,  but  will  throw  its 
elements,  or  the  best  of  them,  into  another  mould,  and 
constitute  out  of  them  a  society,  which  is  in  it,  though 
in  some  sense  not  of  it — which  is  another,  yet  the  same. 

That  each  one  born  into  the  nation  is,  together  with 
his  civil  rights,  born  into  a  membership  or  privilege, 
as  belonging  to  a  spiritual  society,  places  him  at  once 
in  a  relation  which  must  tell  powerfully  upon  his 
spiritual  nature.  For  the  sake  of  the  reaction  upon 
its  own  merely  secular  interests,  the  nation  is  entitled  to 
provide  from  time  to  time,  that  the  Church  teaching  and 
forms  of  one  age  do  not  traditionally  harden,  so  as  to 
become  exclusive  barriers  in  a  subsequent  one,  and  so 
the  moral  growth  of  those  who  are  committed  to  the 
hands  of  the  Church  be  checked,  or  its  influences  con- 
fined to  a  comparatively  few.  And  the  objects  of  the 
care  of  the  State  and  of  the  Church  will  nearly  co- 
incide ;  for  the  former  desires  all  its  people  to  be 
brought  under  the  improving  influence,  and  the  latter 
is  willing  to  embrace  all  who  have  even  the  rudiments 
of  the  moral  life. 

And  if  the  objects  of  the  care  of  each  nearly  coincide, 
when  the  office  of  the  Church  is  properly  understood, 


/hj^ 


The  National  Church.  195 

so  errors  and  mistakes  in  defining  Churcli  membersliip, 
or  in  constituting  a  repulsive  mode  of  Church  teaching, 
are  fiital  to  the  purposes  both  of  Church  and  State  alike. 

It  is  a  great  misrepresentation  to  exhibit  the  State 
as  allying  itself  with  one  out  of  many  sects — a  mis- 
representation, the  blame  of  which  does  not  rest  wholly 
with  political  persons,  nor  with  the  partisans  of  sects 
adverse  to  that  which  is  supposed  to  be  unduly  pre- 
ferred.    It  cannot  concern  a  State  to  develope  as  part 
of  its   own    organization  a   machinery   or  system    of 
relations    founded    on    the   possession    of  speculative 
truth.     Speculative  doctrines  should  be  left  to  philo-  '^ 
sophical  schools.    A  national  Church  must  be  concerned  | 
with  the  ethical  development  of  its  members.     And  x 
the  wrong  of  supposing  it  to  be  otherwise,  is  partici- 
pated b}^  those  of  the  clericalty  who  consider  the  Church 
of  Christ  to  be  founded,  as  a  society,  on  the  possession 
of  an  abstractedly  true  and  supernaturally  communi- 
cated  speculation  concerning  God,  rather  than  upon  ^^ ' 
the  manifestation  of  a  divine  life  in  man. 

It  has  often  been  made  matter  of  reproach  to 
the  heathen  State  religion.:,  that  they  took  little 
concern  in  the  moral  life  of  the  citizens.  To  a 
certain  extent  this  is  true,  for  the  heathens  of  clas- 
sical history  had  not  generally  the  same  conceptions  of 
morals  as  we  have.  But  as  flir  as  tlieir  conceptions 
of  morals  reached,  their  Church  and  State  were 
mutually  bound  together,  not  by  a  material  alliance, 
nor  by  a  gross  compact  of  pay  and  preferment 
passing  between  the  civil  society  and  the  priest- 
hood, but  by  the  penetrating  of  the  whole  public 
and  domestic  life  of  the  nation  with  a  reliirious 
sentiment.  All  the  social  relations  were  consecrated 
by  the  feeling  of  their  being  entered  into  and  carried 
on  under  the  sanction — under  the  very  impulse  of 
Deity.  Treaties  and  boundaries,  bu^^ing  and  selling, 
marrying,  judging,  deliberating  on  aft'airs  of  State, 
spectacles  and  all  popular  amusements,  were  under  the 

0    2 


196  The  National  Church. 

protection  of  Divinity  ;  all  life  was  a  worship.  It  can 
very  well  be  understood  how  philosophers  should  be 
esteemed  atheists,  when  they  began  to  speculate  upon 
origins,  causes,  abstract  being,  and  the  like. 

Certainly  the  sense  of  the  individual  conscience  was 
not  sufficiently  developed  under  those  old  religions. 
Their  observances,  once  penetrated  with  a  feeling  of 
present  Deity,  became,  in  course  of  time,  mere  dry  and 
superstitious  forms.  But  the  glory  of  the  Grospel 
would  only  be  partial  and  one-sided,  if,  while  quicken- 
ing the  individual  conscience  and  the  expectation  of 
individual  immortality,  it  had  no  spirit  to  quicken  the 
national  life.  An  isolated  salvation,  the  rescuing  of 
one's  self,  the  reward,  the  grace  bestowed  on  one's  own 
labours,  the  undisturbed  repose,  the  crown  of  glory  in 
which  so  many  have  no  share,  the  finality  of  the 
sentence  on  both  hands — reflections  on  such  expecta- 
tions as  these  may  make  stubborn  martyrs  and  sour 
professors,  but  not  good  citizens ;  rather  tend  to  unfit 
men  for  this  world,  and  in  so  doing  prepare  them  very 
ill  for  that  which  is  to  come. 

But  in  order  to  the  possibility  of  recruiting  any 
national  ministry  from  the  whole  of  the  nation,  in 
order  to  the  operation  upon  the  nation  at  large  of  the 
special  functions  of  its  Church,  no  needless  intellectual 
or  speculative  obstacles  should  be  interposed.  It  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  terms  of  communion  could 
be  made  so  large,  as  by  any  possibility  to  comprehend 
in  the  national  Church  the  whole  of  such  a  free  nation 
as  our  own.  There  will  always  be  those  who,  from 
a  conscientious  scruple,  or  from  a  desire  to  define,  or 
from  peculiarities  of  temper,  will  hold  aloof  from  the 
religion  and  the  worship  of  the  majority  ;  and  it  is  not 
desirable  that  it  should  be  otherwise,  so  long  as  the  na- 
tional unity  and  the  moral  action  of  society  are  not  there- 
by seriously  impaired.  No  doubt,  speaking  politically, 
and  regarding  merely  the  peacefulness  with  which  the 
machinery  of  ordinary  executive  government  can  be  car- 
ried on,  it  has  proved  very  advantageous  to  the  State, 


The  National  Church.  197 

tliat  an  Established  Church  has  existed  in  this  country, 
to  receive  the  shafts  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
directed  against  itself.  Ill-humour  has  evaporated 
harmlessly  in  Dissent,  which  might  otherwise  have 
materially  deranged  the  body  politic;  and  village 
Hampdens  have  acquired  a  parochial  renown,  sufficient 
to  satisfy  their  ambition,  in  resistance  to  a  Church- 
rate,  whose  restlessness  might  have  urged  them  to 
dispute  even  to  prison  and  spoiling  of  their  goods, 
the  lawfulness  of  a  war-tax.  But  whatever  root  of 
conscientiousness  and  truth-seeking  there  has  been 
in  non-conformit}^  whatever  amount  of  indirect 
good  is  produced  by  the  emulation  of  the  different 
religious  bodies,  whatever  safety  to  social  order  by  the 
escapement  for  temper  so  provided — the  moral  influence 
of  the  better  people  in  their  several  neighbourhoods  is 
neutralized  or  lost  for  want  of  harmony  and  concentra- 
tion, when  the  alienation  from  the  national  Church  -^ 
reaches  the  extent  which  it  has  done  in  our  country. 
Even  in  the  more  retired  localities,  industry,  cleanli- 
ness, decency  in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  school  discipline 
and  truthfulness,  are  encouraged  far  less  than  the}^ 
might  otherwise  be,  by  reason  of  the  absence  of 
religious  unanimity  in  the  superior  classes.  And  if 
the  points  of  speculation  and  of  form  which  separate 
Dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England  were  far  more 
important  than  they  are,  and  the  approximative  truth 
preponderatingly  upon  the  side  of  Dissent,  it  would  do 
infinitely  more  harm  b}^  the  dissension  which  it  creates, 
than  it  possibly  could  accomplish  of  good,  by  a  greater 
correctness  in  doctrine  and  ecclesiastical  constitution. 
If  this  statement  concerns  Dissent  itself  on  one  side, 
it  concerns  the  Church  on  the  other,  or  rather  those  ^ 
who  so  limit  the  terms  of  its  communion  as  to  pro- 
voke, and — as  human  beings  are  constituted — to  ne- 
cessitate separation  from  it.  It  is  stated  by  Neal,^  that 
if  the  alterations  in  the  Prayer-book,  recommended 


^  Sist.  Fur.  iv.  p.  6i8. 


198  The  National  Church. 

by  the  Commissioners  of  1689  had  been  adopted,  it 
would  '  in  all  probability  have  brought  in  three  parts 
in  four  of  the  Dissenters.'  No  such  result  could  be 
expected  from  any  'amendments'  or  'concessions'  now. 
Much  less  could  anything  be  hoped  for,  by  means  of  a 
'Conference.'  But  it  concerns  the  State,  on  the 
highest  grounds  of  public  policy,  to  rectify,  as  lar  as 
possible,  the  mistakes  committed  in  former  times  by 
itself  or  by  the  Church  under  its  sanction ;  and  with- 
out aiming  at  an  universal  comprehension,  which 
would  be  Utopian,  to  suffer  the  perpetuation  of  no 
unnecessary  barriers  excluding  from  the  communion 
or  the  ministry  of  the  national  Church. 

There  are,  moreover,  besides  those  who  have  joined 
the  ranks  of  Dissent,  many  others  holding  aloof  from 
the  Church  of  England,  by  reason  of  its  real  or  sup- 
posed dogmatism — whose  co-operation  in  its  true  work 
would  be  most  valuable  to  it — and  who  cannot  become 
utterly  estranged  from  it,  without  its  losing  ultimately 
its  popular  influence  and  its  national  character.  If 
those  who  distinguish  themselves  in  science  and 
literature  cannot,  in  a  scientific  and  literary  age,  be 
effectually  and  cordially  attached  to  the  Church  of 
their  nation,  they  must  sooner  or  later  be  driven  into 
a  position  of  hostility  to  it.  They  may  be  as  indis- 
posed to  the  teaching  of  the  majority  of  Dissenters  as 
to  that  which  they  conceive  to  be  the  teaching  of  the 
Church  ;  but  the  Church,  as  an  organization,  will  of 
necessity  appear  to  be  the  most  damaged  by  a  scientific 
criticism  of  a  supposed  Christianity  common  to  it  with 
other  bodies.  Many  personal  and  social  bonds  have 
retarded  hitherto  an  issue  which  from  time  to  time 
has  threatened  a  controversy  between  our  science  and 
'  our  theology.  It  would  be  a  deplorable  day,  v/hen  the 
greatest  names  on  either  side  should  be  found  in  con- 
flict ;  and  theology  should  only  learn  to  acknowledge, 
after  a  defeat,  that  there  are  no  irreconcileable differences 
between  itself  and  its  opponents. 


Tlie  National  Church.  199 

It  is  sometimes  said  with  a  sneer,  that  the  scientific 
men  and  the  men  of  abstractions  will  never  change 
the  religions  of  the  world ;  and  yet  Christianity  has 
certainly  been  very  different  from  what  it  wonld 
have  been  without  the  philosophies  of  a  Plato  and 
an  Aristotle;  and  a  Bacon  and  a  Newton  exercise 
an  influence  upon  the  Biblical  theology  of  English- 
men. They  have  modified,  though  they  have  not 
made  it.  The  more  diffused  science  of  the  present 
day  will  farther  modify  it.  And  the  question  seems 
to  narrow  itself  to  this — How  can  those  who  differ 
from  each  other  intellectually  in  such  variety  of 
degrees  as  our  more  educated  and  our  less  educated  ic 
classes,  be  comprised  under  the  same  formularies 
of  one  national  Church — be  supposed  to  follow 
them,  assent  to  them,  appropriate  them,  in  one 
spirit  ?  If  such  formularies  embodied  only  an  ethical 
result  addressed  to  the  individual  and  to  society,  the 
speculative  difficulty  would  not  arise.  But  as  they 
present  a  fair  and  substantial  representation  of  the 
Biblical  records,  incorporating  their  letter  and  pre- 
supposing their  historical  element,  precisely  the  same 
problem  is  presented  to  us  intellectually,  as  English 
Churchmen  or  as  Biblical  Christians. 

It  does  not  seem  to  be  contradicted,  that  when 
Church  formularies  adopt  the  words  of  Scripture,  these 
must  have  the  same  meaning,  and  be  subject  to  the 
same  questions,  in  the  formularies,  as  in  the  Scripture. 
And  we  may  go  somewhat  farther  and  say,  that  the 
historical  parts  of  the  Bible,  when  referred  to  or  pre- 
supposed in  the  formularies,  have  the  same  value  in 
them,  which  they  have  in  their  original  seat ;  and  this 
value  may  consist,  rather  in  their  significance,  in  the 
ideas  which  the}^  awaken,  than  in  the  scenes  themselves 
which  they  depict.  And  as  Churchmen,  or  as  Christians, 
we  may  vary  as  to  this  value  in  particulars — that  is, 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  verbal  accuracy  of  a  history,  or 
of  its  spiritual  significance,  without  breaking  with  our 


kV^> 


■*<r 


200  The  National  Churcli. 

k 

communion,  or  denying  onr  sacred  name.  These 
varieties  will  be  determined  partly  by  the  peculiarities 
of  men's  mental  constitution,  partly  by  the  nature  of 
their  education,  circumstances,  and  special  studies. 
And  neither  should  the  idealist  condemn  the  literalist, 
nor  the  literalist  assume  the  right  of  excommunicating 
the  idealist.  They  are  really  fed  with  the  same  truths  ; 
the  literalist  unconsciously,  the  idealist  with  reflection. 
Neither  can  justly  say  of  the  other  that  he  under- 
values the  Sacred  Writings,  or  that  he  holds  them  as 
inspired  less  properly  than  himself. 

The  application  of  ideology  to  the  interpretation  of 
Scripture,  to  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  to  the 
formularies  of  the  Church,  may  undoubtedly  be  car- 
ried to  an  excess — may  be  pushed  so  far  as  to  leave  in 
the  sacred  records  no  historical  residue  whatever.  On 
the  other  side,  there  is  the  excess  of  a  dull  and  un- 
painstaking  acquiescence,  satisfied  with  accepting  in 
an  unquestioning  spirit,  and  as  if  they  were  literally 
facts,  all  particulars  of  a  wonderful  history,  because  in 
some  sense  it  is  from  God.  Between  these  extremes  lie 
infinite  degrees  of  rational  and  irrational  interpretation. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  ideal  method  is  appli- 
cable in  two  ways  ;  both  to  giving  account  of  the 
origin  of  parts  of  Scripture,  and  also  in  explanation 
of  Scripture.  It  is  thus  either  critical  or  exegetical. 
An  example  of  the  critical  ideology  carried  to  excess 
is  that  of  Strauss,  which  resolves  into  an  ideal  the 
whole  of  the  historical  and  doctrinal  person  of  Jesus  ; 
so  again,  much  of  the  allegorizing  of  Pliilo  and 
Origen  is  an  exegetical  ideology,  exaggerated  and  wild. 
But  it  by  no  means  follows,  because  Strauss  has  sub- 
stituted a  mere  shadow  for  the  Jesus  of  the  Evangelists, 
and  has  frequently  descended  to  a  minute  captiousness 
in  details,  that  there  are  not  traits  in  the  scriptural 
person  of  Jesus,  which  are  better  explained  by  referring 
them  to  an  ideal  than  an  historical  origin  :  and  without 
falling   into    fanciful    exegetics,    there    are   parts   of 


The  National  Church.  201 

Scripture  more  usefully  applied  ideologically  than  in 
any  otlier  manner — as,  for  instance,  the  history  of 
tlie  temptation  of  Jesus  by  Satan,  and  accounts  of 
demoniacal  possessions.  And  liberty  must  be  left  to 
all  as  to  the  extent  in  which  they  apply  the  principle, 
for  there  is  no  authority,  through  the  expressed  deter- 
mination of  the  Church,  nor  of  any  other  kind,  which 
can  define  the  limits  within  which  it  may  be  reasonably 
exercised. 

Thus  some  may  consider  the  descent  of  all  mankind 
from  Adam  and  Eve  as  an  undoubted  historical  fact ; 
others  may  rather  perceive  in  that  relation  a  form  of 
narrative,  into  which  in  early  ages  tradition  would 
easily  throw  itself  spontaneously.  Each  race  naturally 
— necessarily,  when  races  are  isolated — supposes  itself 
to  be  sprung  from  a  single  pair,  and  to  be  the  first,  or 
the  only  one,  of  races.  Among  a  particular  people  this 
historical  representation  became  the  concrete  expression 
of  a  o-reat  moral  truth — of  the  brotherhood  oi  all 
human  beings,  of  their  community,  as  in  other  things, 
so  also  in  suffering  and  in  frailty,  in  physical  pains 
and  in  moral  '  corruption.'  And  the  force,  grandeur, 
and  reality  of  these  ideas  are  not  a  whit  impaired  in 
the  abstract,  nor  indeed  the  truth  of  the  concrete  his- 
tory as  their  representation,  even  though  mankind 
should  have  been  placed  upon  the  earth  in  many  pairs 
at  once,  or  in  distinct  centres  of  creation.  For  the 
brotherhood  of  men  really  depends,  not  upon  the 
material  fact  of  their  Heshly  descent  from  a  single 
stock,  but  upon  their  constitution,  as  possessed  in 
common  of  the  same  faculties  and  affections,  fitting 
them  for  mutual  relation  and  association ;  so  that  the 
value  of  the  history,  if  it  were  a  histofy  strictly  so 
called,  would  lie  in  its  emblematic  force  and  application. 
And  many  narratives  of  marvels  and  catastrophes  in 
the  Old  Testament  are  referred  to  in  the  New,  as 
emblems,  without  either  denying  or  asserting  their 
literal  truth — such  as  the  destruction  of  Sodom  and 


202  Tlie  National  Church. 

Gomorrali  by  fire  from  heaven,  and  the  Noachian 
deluge.  And  especially  if  we  bear  in  mind  the  exist- 
ence of  such  a  school  as  tliat  which  produced  Pliilo, 
or  even  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  we 
must  think  it  would  be  wrong  to  lay  down,  that 
whenever  the  New  Testament  writers  refer  to  Old 
Testament  histories,  they  imply  of  necessity  that  the 

,j     historic  truth  was  the  first  to  them.     For  their  pur- 
W.    poses  it  was  often  wholly  in  the  background,  and  the 

Y" .-'  history,  valuable  only  in  its  spiritual  application.  The 
same  may  take  place  with  ourselves,  and  history  and 
tradition  be  employed  emblematically,  without,  on  that 
account,  being  regarded  as  untrue.  We  do  not  apply 
the  term  '  untrue'  to  parable,  fable,  or  proverb, 
altliough  their  words  correspond  with  ideas,  not  with 
material  facts;  as  little  should  we  do  so, when  narratives 
have  been  the  spontaneous  product  of  true  ideas,  and 
are  capable  of  reproducing  them. 

The  ideologian  is  evidently  in  possession  of  a  prin- 
ciple which  will  enable  him  to  stand  in  charitable  re- 
lation to  persons  of  very  different  opinions  from  his 
own,  and  of  very  different  opinions  mutually.  And  if 
he  has  perceived  to  how  great  extent  the  history  of 
the  origin  itself  of  Christianity  rests  ultimately  upon 
probable  evidence,  his  principle  will  relieve  him  from 
many  difficulties  which  might  otherwise  be  very  dis- 
turbing. For  relations  which  may  repose  on  doubt- 
ful grounds  as  matter  of  history,  and,  as  history,  be  in- 
capable of  being  ascertained  or  verified,  may  yet  be 
equally  suggestive  of  true  ideas  with  facts  absolutely 
certain.  The  spiritual  significance  is  the  same,  of 
the  transfiguration,  of  opening  blind  eyes,  of  causing 
the  tongue  of  the  stammerer  to  speak  plainly,  of  feed- 
ing multitudes  with  bread  in  the  wilderness,  of  cleansing 
leprosy,  whatever  links  may  be  deficient  in  the  tra- 
ditional record  of  particular  events.  Or,  let  us  suppose 
one  to  be  uncertain,  whether  our  Lord  were  born  of  the 
house  and  lineage  of  David,  or  of  the  tribe  of  Levi, 


Tlie  National  CJaircIi.  203 

and  even  to  be  driven  to  conclude  that  the  genealo- 
gies of  Him  have  little  historic  value ;  nevertheless, 
in  idea,  Jesus  is  both  Son  of  David  and  Son  of  Aaron,  "^^  \ 
both  Prince  of  Peace  and  High  Priest  of  our  profes- 
sion ;  as  He  is,  under  another  idea,  though  not  literally, 
'  without  father  and  without  mother.'  And  He  is 
none  the  less  Son  of  David,  Priest  Aaronical,  or  Koyal 
Priest  Melchizedecan,  in  idea  and  spiritually,  even  if 
it  be  unproved  whether  He  were  any  of  them  in 
historic  fact.  In  like  manner  it  need  not  trouble  us, 
if,  in  consistency,  we  should  have  to  suppose  both 
an  ideal  origin  and  to  apply  an  ideal  meaning  to  the 
birth  in  the  city  of  David,  and  to  other  circumstances  of 
the  infancy.  So,  again,  the  incarnification  of  the  di- 
vine Immanuel  remains,  although  the  angelic  appear- 
ances which  herald  it  in  the  narratives  of  the  Evange- 
lists may  be  of  ideal  origin  according  to  the  concep- 
tions of  former  days.  The  ideologian  may  sometimes 
be  thought  sceptical,  and  be  sceptical  or  doubtful,  as 
to  the  historical  value  of  related  facts ;  but  the  histori- 
cal value  is  not  always  to  him  the  most  important ;  fre- 
quently it  is  quite  secondary.  And,  consequently,  dis- 
crepancies in  narratives,  scientific  difficulties,  defects  in 
evidence,  do  not  disturb  him  as  they  do  the  literalist. 
Moreover,  the  same  principle  is  capable  of  applica- 
tion to  some  of  those  inferences  which  have  been  the 
source,  according  to  different  theologies,  of  much  con- 
troversial acrimony  and  of  wide  ecclesiastical  separa- 
tions ;  such  as  those  which  have  been  drawn  from  the 
institution  of  the  sacraments.  Some,  for  instance,  can- 
not conceive  a  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  His  institu- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper,  unless  it  be  a  corporeal  one, 
nor  a  spiritual  influence  upon  the  moral  nature  of  man 
to  be  connected  with  baptism,  unless  it  be  superna- 
tural, quasi-mechanical,  effecting  a  psychical  change 
then  and  there.  But  within  these  concrete  concep- 
tions there  lie  hid  the  truer  ideas  of  the  virtual 
presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus  everywhere  that  He  is 


504  The  National  Church. 

preached,  remembered,  and  represented,  and  of  the  con- 
tinual force  of  His  spirit  in  His  words,  and  especially 
in  the  ordinance  which  indicates  the  separation  of  the 
Christian  from  the  world. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  concrete  conceptions 
of  an  hierarchy  described  by  its  material  form  and 
descent ;  also  of  millenarian  expectations  of  a  personal 
reign  of  the  saints  with  Jesus  upon  earth,  and  of  the 
many  embodiments  in  which  from  age  to  age  has 
reappeared  the  vision  of  a  New  Jerusalem  shining  with 
mundane  glory  here  below.  These  gross  conceptions, 
as  they  seem  to  some,  may  be  necessary  to  others,  as 
approximations  to  true  ideas.  So,  looking  for  re- 
demption in  Israel  was  a  looking  for  a  very  different 
redemption,  with  most  of  the  Jewish  people,  from  that 
which  Jesus  really  came  to  operate,  yet  it  was  the 
only  expectation  which  they  could  form,  and  was  the 
shadow  to  them  of  a  great  reality. 

Lo,  the  poor  Indian,  whose  untutored  mind, 
Sees  God  in  clouds,  or  hears  Him  in  the  wind. 

Even  to  the  Hebrew  Psalmist,  He  comes  flying  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind ;  and  only  to  the  higher  Prophet  is  He 
not  in  the  wind,  nor  in  the  earthquake,  nor  in  the  fire, 
but  in  '  the  still  small  voice.'  Not  the  same  thoughts — 
very  far  from  the  same  thoughts — pass  through  the 
^  ,.  minds  of  the  more  and  the  less  instructed  on  contem- 
plating the  same  face  of  the  natural  world.  In  like 
manner  are  the  thoughts  of  men  various,  in  form  at 
least,  if  not  in  substance,  when  they  read  the  same 
Scripture  histories  and  use  the  same  Scripture  phrases. 
Histories  to  some,  become  parables  to  others ;  and  facts 
, .  to  those,  are  emblems  to  these.     The   '  rock'  and  the 

V  0-'''  '  cloud'  and  tlie  '  sea'  convey  to  the  Christian  admoni- 

's  tions  of  spiritual  verities  ;  and  so  do  the  ordinances  of 

the  Church  and  various  parts  of  its  forms  of  worship. 

Jesus  Christ  has  not  revealed  His  religion  as  a 
theology  of  the  intellect,  nor  as  an  historical  faith ; 
and  it  is  a  stifling  of  the  true  Christian  life,  both  in  the 


"i/ 


y 


Tke  National  Church.  205 

individual  and  in  tlie  Cliurcli,  to  require  of  many  men 
a  unanimity  in  speculative  doctrine,  which  is  unattain- 
able, and  a  uniformity  of  historical  belief,  which  can 
never  exist.  The  true  Christian  life  is  the  conscious- 
ness of  bearing  a  part  in  a  great  moral  order,  of  which  ^  "^'" 
the  highest  agency  upon  earth  has  been  committed  to 
the  Church.  Let  us  not  oppress  this  work  nor  com- 
plicate the  difficulties  with  which  it  is  surrounded; 
'  not  making  the  heart  of  the  righteous  sad,  whom  the 
Lord  hath  not  made  sad,  nor  strengthening  the  hands 
of  the  wicked  by  promising  him  life.' 

There  is  enough  indeed  to  sadden  us  in  the  doubtful 
warfare  which  the  good  wages  with  the  evil,  both  within 
us  and  without  us.  How  few,  under  the  most  favour- 
able conditions,  learn  to  bring  themselves  face  to  face 
with  tlie  great  moral  law,  which  is  the  manifestation 
of  the  Will  of  God  !  The  greater  part  can  only  detect 
the  evil  when  it  comes  forth  from  them,  nearly  as  when 
any  other  might  observe  it.  We  cannot,  in  the  matter 
of  those  who  are  brought  under  the  highest  influences 
of  the  Christian  Church,  any  more  than  in  the  case  of 
mankind  viewed  in  their  ordinary  relations,  give  any  ac- 
count of  the  apparently  useless  expenditure  of  power — 
of  the  apparent  overbearing  generally  of  the  higher  law 
by  the  lower — of  the  apparent  poverty  of  result  from  the 
operation  of  a  wonderful  machinery — of  the  seeming 
waste  of  myriads  of  germs,  for  the  sake  of  a  few 
mature  growths.  '  Many  are  called  but  few  chosen ' — 
and  under  the  privileges  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  in 
other  mysteries, — 

TToXXot  \ikv  vap6r]Kocj)6poi,  |3dK;^oi  8e  ye  navpoi. 

Calvinism  has  a  keen  perception  of  this  truth  ;  and 
we  shrink  from  Calvinism  and  Augustinianism,  not 
because  of  their  perceiving  how  few,  even  under  Chris- 
tian privileges,  attain  to  the  highest  adoption  of  sons  ; 
but  because  of  the  inferences  with  which  they  clog 
that  truth — the  inferences  which  they  draw  respecting 


206  The  National  Church. 

the  rest,  whom  they  comprehend  in  one  mass  of  per- 
dition. 

The  Christian  Church  can  only  tend  on  those 
who  are  committed  to  its  care,  to  the  verge  of  that 
abyss  which  parts  this  world  from  the  world  un- 
seen. Some  few  of  those  fostered  b}^  her  are  now  ripe 
for  entering  on  a  higher  career :  the  many  are  but 
rudimentary  spirits — germinal  souls.  What  shall 
become  of  them  ?  If  we  look  abroad  in  the  world  and 
regard  the  neutral  character  of  the  multitude,  we  are 
at  a  loss  to  apply  to  them,  either  the  promises, 
or  the  denunciations  of  revelation.  So,  tlie  wise 
heathens  could  anticipate  a  reunion  with  the  great 
and  good  of  all  ages ;  they  could  represent  to  them- 
selves, at  least  in  a  figurative  manner,  the  punishment 
and  the  purgatory  of  the  wicked ;  but  they  would  not 
expect  the  reappearance  in  another  world,  for  any 
purpose,  of  a  Thersites  or  an  Hyperbolos — social  and 
poetical  justice  had  been  sufficiently  done  upon  them. 
Yet  there  are  such  as  these,  and  no  better  than  these, 
under  the  Christian  name — babblers,  busy-bodies, 
livers  to  get  gain,  and  mere  eaters  and  drinkers.  The 
Roman  Church  has  imagined  a  limhm  in/mitimn ; 
we  must  rather  entertain  a  hope  that  there  shall 
be  found,  after  the  great  adjudication,  receptacles 
suitable  for  those  who  shall  be  infants,  not  as  to  years 
of  terrestrial  life,  but  as  to  spiritual  development — nur- 
series as  it  were  and  seed-grounds,  where  the  unde- 
veloped may  grow  up  under  new  conditions — the 
stunted  may  become  strong,  and  the  perverted  be 
restored.  And  when  the  Christian  Church,  in  all  its 
branches,  shall  have  fulfilled  its  sublunary  office,  and 
its  Founder  shall  have  surrendered  His  kingdom  to 
the  Great  Father — all,  both  small  and  great,  shall  find 
a  refuge  in  the  bosom  of  the  Universal  Parent,  to 
repose,  or  be  quickened  into  higher  life,  in  the  ages  to 
come,  according  to  His  Will. 


MOSAIC  COSMOGONY. 


ON  the  revival  of  science  in  the  i6th  century,  some 
of  the  earliest  conclusions  at  which  philosophers  %X 
arrived  were  found  to  be  at  variance  with  popular  and  ^  '*^}^»i 
long- established  belief.  The  Ptolemaic  system  of  ^^^ 
astronomy,  which  had  then  full  possession  of  the 
minds  of  men,  contemplated  the  whole  visible  universe 
from  the  earth  as  the  immovable  centre  of  things. 
Copernicus  changed  the  point  of  view,  and  placing  the 
beholder  in  the  sun,  at  once  reduced  the  earth  to  an 
inconspicuous  globule,  a  merely  subordinate  member  of 
a  family  of  planets,  which  the  terrestrials  had  until 
then  fondly  imagined  to  be  but  pendants  and  orna- 
ments of  their  own  habitation.  The  Church  naturally 
took  a  lively  interest  in  the  disputes  which  arose 
between  the  philosophers  of  the  new  school  and  those 
who  adhered  to  the  old  doctrines,  inasmuch  as  the 
Hebrew  records,  the  basis  of  religious  faith,  manifestly 
countenanced  the  opinion  of  the  earth's  immobility 
and  certain  other  views  of  the  universe  very  incom- 
patible with  those  propounded  by  Copernicus.  Hence 
arose  the  official  proceedings  against  Galileo,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  he  submitted  to  sign  his  celebrated 
recantation,  acknowledging  that  '  the  proposition  that 
the  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  world  and  immovable 
from  its  place  is  absurd,  philosophically  false,  and 
formally  heretical,  because  it  is  expressly  contrary  to 


\C  *  ^'      208  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

the  Scripture ;'  and  that  '  the  proposition  tliat  the 
earth  is  not  the  centre  of  the  world,  nor  immovable, 
but  that  it  moves  and  also  with  a  diurnal  motion,  is 
absurd,  philosophically  false,  and  at  least  erroneous  in 
faith.' 

The  Romish  Church,  it  is  presumed,  adheres  to  the 
old  views  to  the  present  day.  Protestant  instincts, 
however,  in  the  17th  century  were  strongly  in 
sympathy  with  the  augmentation  of  science,  and 
consequently  Reformed  Churches  more  easily  allowed 
themselves  to  be  helped  over  the  difficulty,  which, 
according  to  the  views  of  inspiration  then  held  and 
which  have  survived  to  the  present  day,  was  in  reality 
quite  as  formidable  for  them  as  for  those  of  the  old 
faith.  The  solution  of  the  difficulty  offered  by  Galileo 
and  others  was,  that  the  object  of  a  revelation  or 
divine  unveiling  of  mysteries,  must  be  to  teach  man 
things  whicli  he  is  unable  and  must  ever  remain 
unable  to  find  out  for  himself:  but  not  physical  truths, 
for  the  discovery  of  which  he  has  faculties  specially 
provided  by  his  Creator.  Hence  it  was  not  unreason- 
able, that  in  regard  to  matters  of  fact  merely,  the 
Sacred  Writings  should  use  the  common  language 
^  and  assume  the  common  belief  of  mankind,  without 
""i  purporting  to  correct  errors  upon  points  morally 
indifferent.  So,  in  regard  to  such  a  text  as  '  The 
world  is  established,  it  cannot  be  moved,'  though  it 
might  imply  the  sacred  penman's  ignorance  of  the 
fact  that  the  earth  does  move,  yet  it  does  not  put 
forth  this  opinion  as  an  indispensable  point  of  faith. 
And  this  remark  is  applicable  to  a  number  of  texts 
whicli  present  a  similar  difficulty. 

It  might  be  thought  to  have  been  less  easy  to 
reconcile  in  men's  minds  the  Copernican  view  of  the 
universe  with  the  very  jjlain  and  direct  averments 
contained  in  the  opening  chapter  of  Grenesis.  It  can 
scarcely  be  said  that  this  chapter  is  not  intended  in 
part  to  teach  and  convey  at  least  some  physical  truth, 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  209 

and  taking  its  words  in  their  plain  sense  it  manifestly 
gives  a  view  of  the  universe  adverse  to  that  of  modern 
science.  It  represents  the  sky  as  a  watery  vault  in  which 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  are  set.  But  the  discordance 
of  this  description  with  facts  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  so  palpable  to  the  minds  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury as  it  is  to  us.  The  mobility  of  the  earth  was  a 
proposition  startling  not  only  to  faith  but  to  the 
senses.  The  difficulty  involved  in  this  belief  having 
been  successfully  got  over,  other  discrepancies 
dwindled  in  importance.  The  brilliant  progress  of 
astronomical  science  subdued  the  minds  of  men ;  the 
controversy  between  faith  and  knowledge  gradually 
fell  to  slumber ;  the  story  of  Galileo  and  the  Inquisi- 
tion became  a  school  commonplace,  the  doctrine  of 
the  earth's  mobility  found  its  way  into  children's 
catechisms,  and  the  limited  views  of  the  nature  of  the 
universe  indicated  in  the  Old  Testament  ceased  to  be 
felt  as  religious  difficulties. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  theologians  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  accept  frankly  the  principle  that 
those  things  for  the  discovery  of  which  man  has 
faculties  specially  provided  are  not  fit  objects  of  a 
divine  revelation.  Had  this  been  unhesitatingly  done, 
either  the  definition  and  idea  of  divine  revelation 
must  have  been  modified,  and  the  possibility  of  an 
admixture  of  error  have  been  allowed,  or  such  parts 
of  the  Hebrew  writings  as  were  found  to  be  repugnant 
to  fact  must  have  been  pronounced  to  form  no  part  of 
revelation.  The  first  course  is  that  which  theologians 
have  most  generally  adopted,  but  with  such  limitations, 
cautels,  and  equivocations  as  to  be  of  little  use  in 
satisfying  those  who  would  know  how  and  what  God 
really  has  taught  mankind,  and  whether  anything 
beyond  that  which  man  is  able  and  obviously  intended 
to  arrive  at  by  the  use  of  his  natural  faculties. 

The  difficulties  and  disputes  which  attended  the 
first  revival  of  science  have  recurred  in  the  present 

p 


210  Mosaic  Cosmogony, 

V-  century  in  consequence  of  the  growth  of  geology.  It 
is  in  truth  only  the  old  question  over  again — precisely 
the  same,  point  of  theology  which  is  involved, — 
although  the  difficulties  which  present  themselves  are 
fresh.  The  school-books  of  the  present  day,  while 
they  teach  the  child  that  the  earth  moves,  yet  assure 
him  that  it  is  a  little  less  than  six  thousand  years  old, 
and  that  it  was  made  in  six  days.  On  the  other  hand, 
geologists  of  all  religious  creeds  are  agreed  that  the 
earth  has  existed  for  an  immense  series  of  years, — to 
be  counted  by  millions  rather  than  by  thousands  ;  and 
that  indubitably  more  than  six  days  elapsed  from  its 
first  creation  to  the  appearance  of  man  upon  its  sur- 
face. By  this  broad  discrepancy  between  old  and 
new  doctrine  is  the  modern  mind  startled,  as  were  the 
men  of  the  sixteenth  century  when  told  that  the  earth 
moved. 

When  this  new  cause  of  controversy  first  arose, 
some  writers  more  hasty  than  discreet,  attacked  the 
conclusions  of  geologists,  and  declared  them  scientifi- 
cally false.  This  phase  may  now  be  considered  past, 
and  although  school-books  probabty  continue  to  teach 
much  as  they  did,  no  well-instructed  person  now 
doubts  the  great  antiquity  of  the  earth  any  more  than 
its  motion.  This  being  so,  modern  theologians,  for- 
saking the  maxim  of  Galileo,  or  only  using  it  vaguely 
as  an  occasional  make-weight,  have  directed  their  at- 
tention to  the  possibility  of  reconciling  the  Mosaic 
narrative  with  those  geological  facts  which  are  ad- 
mitted to  be  beyond  dispute.  Several  modes  of  doing 
this  have  been  proposed  which  have  been  deemed 
more  or  less  satisfactoiy.  In  a  text-book  of  theolo- 
gical instruction  widely  used,^  we  find  it  stated  in  broad 
terms,  *  Geological  investigations,  it  is  now  known,  all 
prove  the  perfect  harmony  between  scripture  and 
geology,  in  reference  to  the  history  of  creation.' 

1  Home's  Introduction  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  (1856,  tenth  Edition). 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  211 

111  truth,  however,  if  we  refer  to  the  plans  of  con- 
ciliation proposed,  we  find  them  at  variance  with  eacli 
other  and  mutually  destructive.     The  conciliators  are 
not  agreed    among    themselves,   and  each  holds  the 
views  of  the  other  to  he  untenable  and  unsafe.     The 
ground  is  perpetually  being  shifted,  as  the  advance  of 
geological  science  may  require.     The  plain  meaning 
of  the    Hebrew   record   is    unscrupulously   tampered 
with,  and  in  general  the  pith  of  the  whole  process  lies 
in  divesting  the  text  of  all  meaning  whatever.     We 
are  told  that  Scripture  not  being  designed  to  teach  us 
natural  philosophy,  it  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  make 
out   a  cosmogony  from  its  statements.     If  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis  convey  to  us  no  information  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  world,  its  statements  cannot 
indeed  be  contradicted  by  modern  discovery.     But  it 
is  absurd  to  call  this  harmony.     Statements  such  as 
that  above  quoted  are,  we  conceive,  little  calculated  to 
be  serviceable  to  the  interests  of  theology,  still  less  to 
religion   and  morality.     Believing,  as  we  do,  that  if 
tlie  value  of  the  Bible  as  a  book  of  religious  instruc- 
tion is  to  be  maintained,  it  must  be  not  by  striving  to 
prove  it  scientifically  exact,  at  the  expense  of  every 
sound  principle  of  interpretation,  and  in  defiance  of 
common   sense,  but  by  the   frank  recognition   of  the 
erroneous  views  of  nature  which  it  contains,  we  have 
put  pen  to  paper  to  analyse  some  of  the  popular  con- 
ciliation theories.     The  inquiry  cannot  be  deemed  a 
superfluous   one,  nor  one  which   in  the  interests   of 
theology  had  better   be  let  alone.     Physical  science 
goes  on  unconcernedly  pursuing  its  own  paths.    Theo- 
logy, the  science  whose  object  is  the  dealing  of  God 
with  man  as  a  moral  being,  maintains  but  a  shivering 
existence,  shouldered  and  jostled  by  the  sturdy  growths 
of  modern  thought,  and  bemoaning  itself  for  the  hos- 
tility which  it  encounters.     Why  should  this  be,  un- 
less because  theologians  persist  in  clinging  to  theories 
of  God's  procedure  towards    man,  which   have  long 

p  3 


212  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

been  seen  to  be  untenable  ?  If,  relinquishing  theories, 
they  would  be  content  to  inquire  from  the  history  of 
man  what  this  procedure  has  actually  been,  the  so- 
called  difficulties  of  theology  would,  for  the  most  part, 
vanish  of  themselves. 

The  account  which  astronomy  gives  of  the  relations 
of  our  earth  to  the  rest  of  the  universe,  and  that 
which  geology  gives  of  its  internal  structure  and  the 
development  of  its  surface,  are  sufficiently  familiar 
to  most  readers.  But  it  will  be  necessary  for  our 
purpose  to  go  over  the  oft-trodden  ground,  which  must 
be  done  with  rapid  steps.  Nor  let  the  reader  object 
to  be  reminded  of  some  of  the  most  elementary  facts 
of  his  knowledge.  The  human  race  has  been  ages  in 
arriving  at  conclusions  now  familiar  to  every  child. 

This  earth  apparently  so  still  and  stedl'ast,  lying 
in  majestic  repose  beneath  the  aithereal  vault,  is  a 
globular  body  of  comparatively  insignificant  size, 
whirling  fast  through  space  round  the  sun  as  the 
centre  of  its  orbit,  and  completing  its  revolution  in 
the  course  of  one  year,  while  at  the  same  time  it 
revolves  daily  once  about  its  own  axis,  thus  producing 
the  changes  of  day  and  night.  The  sun,  which  seems  to 
leap  up  each  morning  from  the  east,  and  traversing  the 
skyey  bridge,  slides  down  into  the  west,  is  relatively 
to  our  earth  motionless.  In  size  and  weight  it  incon- 
ceivably surpasses  it.  The  moon,  which  occupies  a 
position  in  the  visible  heavens  only  second  to  the  sun, 
and  far  beyond  that  of  every  other  celestial  body  in 
conspicuousness,  is  but  a  subordinate  globe,  much 
smaller  than  our  own,  and  revolving  round  the  earth 
as  its  centre,  while  it  accompanies  it  in  yearly  revo- 
lutions about  the  sun.  Of  itself  it  has  no  lustre,  and 
is  visible  to  us  only  by  the  reflected  sunlight.  Those 
beautiful  stars  which  are  perpetually  changing  their 
position  in  the  heavens,  and  shine  with  a  soft  and 
moon-like  light,  are  bodies,  some  much  larger,  some 
less,  than  our  earth,  and  like  it  revolve  round  the  sun, 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  213 

b}^  the  reflection  of  whose  rajs  we  see  them.  The 
telescope  has  revealed  to  us  the  fact  that  several  of 
these  are  attended  by  moons  of  their  own,  and  that 
besides  those  which  the  unassisted  eye  can  see,  there 
are  others  belonging  to  the  same  family  coursing 
round  the  sun.  As  for  the  glittering  dust  which 
■emblazons  the  nocturnal  sky,  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  each  spark  is  a  self-luminous  body,  perhaps  of 
similar  material  to  our  sun,  and  that  the  very  nearest 
of  the  whole  tribe  is  at  an  incalculable  distance  from 
us,  the  very  least  of  them  of  enormous  size  compared 
with  our  own  humble  globe.  Thus  has  modern  science 
reversed  nearly  all  the  prima  facie  views  to  which  our 
sensesleadus  respecting  the  constitution  of  the  universe; 
but  so  thoroughly  are  the  above  statements  wrought 
into  the  culture  of  the  present  day,  that  we  are  apt  to 
forget  that  mankind  once  saw  these  things  very 
differently,  and  that  but  a  few  centuries  have  elapsed 
since  such  views  were  startling  novelties. 

Our  earth  then  is  but  one  of  the  lesser  pendants  of 
a  body  which  is  itself  only  an  inconsiderable  unit  in 
the  vast  creation.  And  now  if  we  withdraw  our 
thoughts  from  the  immensities  of  space,  and  look  into 
the  construction  of  man's  obscure  home,  the  first 
question  is,  whether  it  has  ever  been  in  any  other  con- 
dition than  that  in  which  we  now  see  it,  and  if  so, 
what  are  the  stages  through  which  it  has  passed,  and 
what  was  its  first  traceable  state.  Here  geology 
steps  in  and  successfully  carries  back  the  history  of  the 
earth's  crust  to  a  very  remote  period,  until  it  arrives  at 
a  region  of  uncertainty,  where  philosophy  is  reduced  to 
mere  guesses  and  possibilities,  and  pronounces  nothing 
definite.  To  this  region  belong  the  speculations  which 
have  been  ventured  upon  as  to  the  original  concretion  of 
the  earth  and  planets  out  of  nebular  matter  of  which 
the  sun  may  have  been  the  nucleus.  But  the  first 
clear  view  which  we  obtain  of  the  early  condition  of  the 
earth,  presents  to  us  a  ball  of  matter,  fluid  with  intense 


"14  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

heat,  spinning  on  its  own  axis  and  revolving  round 
the  sun.  How  long  it  may  have  continued  in  this 
state  is  beyond  calculation  or  surmise.  It  can  only 
be  believed  that  a  prolonged  period,  beginning  and 
ending  we  know  not  when,  elapsed  before'the  surface 
became  cooled  and  hardened  and  capable  of  sustaining 
organized  existences.  The  water  which  now  enwraps 
a  large  portion  of  the  face  of  the  globe,  must  for  ages 
have  existed  only  in  the  shape  of  steam,  floating  above 
and  enveloping  the  planet  in  one  thick  curtain  of 
mist.  When  the  cooling  of  the  surface  allowed  it  to 
condense  and  descend,  then  commenced  the  process  by 
which  the  lowest  stratified  rocks  were  formed,  and 
gradually  spread  out  in  vast  layers.  Eains  and  rivers 
now  acted  upon  the  scoriaceous  integument,  grinding 
it  to  sand  and  carrying  it  down  to  the  depths  and 
cavities.  Whether  organized  beings  co-existed  with 
this  state  of  things  we  know  not,  as  the  early  rocks 
have  been  acted  upon  by  interior  heat  to  an  extent 
which  must  have  destroyed  all  traces  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  if  any  such  ever  existed.  This  period 
has  been  named  by  geologists  the  Azoic,  or  that  in 
which  life  was  not.  Its  duration  no  one  presumes  to 
define. 

It  is  in  the  system  of  beds  which  overlies  these 
primitive  formations  that  the  first  records  of  organisms 
present  themselves.  In  the  so-called  Silurian  system 
we  have  a  vast  assemblage  of  strata  of  various  kinds, 
together  many  thousands  of  feet  thick,  and  abound- 
ing in  remains  of  animal  life.  These  strata  were 
deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  the  remains 
are  exclusively  marine.  The  creatures  whose  exuvise 
have  been  preserved  belong  to  those  classes  which  are 
placed  by  naturalists  the  lowest  with  respect  to 
organization,  the  mollusca,  articulata,  and  radiata. 
Analogous  beings  exist  at  the  present  day,  but  not 
their  lineal  descendants,  unless  time  can  eftect  trans- 
mutation  of    species,    an   hypothesis   not    generally 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  215 

accepted  by  naturalists.  In  the  same  strata  with 
these  inhabitants  of  the  early  seas  are  found  remains 
of  fucoid  or  seaweed-like  plants,  the  lowest  of  the 
vegetable  tribe,  which  may  have  been  the  first  of  this 
kind  of  existences  introduced  into  the  world.  But,  as 
little  has  yet  been  discovered  to  throw  light  upon  the 
state  of  the  dry  land  and  its  productions  at  this  remote 
period,  nothing  can  be  asserted  positively  on  the 
subject.^ 

In  the  upper  strata  of  the  Silurian  system  is  found 
the  commencement  of  the  race  of  fishes,  the  lowest 
creatures  of  the  vertebrate  type,  and  in  the  succeeding 
beds  they  become  abundant.  These  monsters  clothed  in 
mail  who  must  have  been  the  terror  of  the  seas  they 
inhabited,  have  left  their  indestructible  coats  behind 
them  as  evidence  of  their  existence. 

Next  come  the  carboniferous  strata,  containing  the 
remains  of  a  gigantic  and  luxuriant  vegetation,  and 
here  reptiles  and  insects  begin  to  make  their  appearance. 
At  this  point  geologists  make  a  kind  of  artificial  break, 
and  for  the  sake  of  distinction,  denominate  the  whole 
of  the  foregoing  period  of  animated  existences  the 
Palseozoic,  or  that  of  antique  life. 

In  the  next  great  geological  section,  the  so-called 
Secondary  period,  in  which  are  comprised  the  oolitic 
and  cretaceous  systems,  the  predominant  creatures 
are  different  from  those  which  figured  conspicuously 
in  the  preceding.  The  land  was  inhabited  by  gigantic 
animals,  half-toad,  half-lizard,  who  hopped  about, 
leaving  often  their  foot-prints  like  those  of  a  clumsy 
human  hand,  upon  the  sandy  shores  of  the  seas 
they  frequented.  The  waters  now  abounded  with 
monsters,  half-fish,  half-crocodile,  the  well-known 
saurians,  whose  bones  have  been  collected  in  abun- 
dance.    Even  the  air  had  its  tenantry  from  the  same 


'  It  has  been  stated  that  a  coal-bed,  containing  remains  of  land-plants, 
underlying  strata  of  the  lower  Silurian  class,  has  been  found  in  Portugal, 


216  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

family  type,  for  the  pterodactyls  were  creatures,  half- 
lizard,  half-vampyre,  provided  witli  membranous  appen- 
dages which  must  have  enabled  them  to  fly.  In  an 
early  stage  of  this  period  traces  of  birds  appear,  and 
somewhat  later  those  of  mammals,  but  of  the  lowest 
class  belonging  to  that  division,  namely,  the  marsupial 
or  pouch-bearing  animals,  in  which  naturalists  see 
affinities  to  the  oviparous  tribes.  The  vegetation  of 
this  period  seems  to  have  consisted  principally  of  the 
lower  classes  of  plants,  according  to  the  scale  of 
organization  accepted  by  botanists,  but  it  was  luxuriant 
and  gigantic. 

Lastly,  comes  the  Tertiary  period,  in  which  mam- 
malia of  the  highest  forms  enter  upon  the  scene, 
while  the  composite  growths  of  the  Secondary  period 
in  great  part  disappear,  and  the  t^q^es  of  creatures 
approach  more  nearly  to  those  which  now  exist. 
During  long  ages  this  state  of  things  continued, 
w^hile  the  earth  was  the  abode  principally  of 
mastodons,  elephants,  rhinoceroses,  and  their  thick- 
hided  congeners,  many  of  them  of  colossal  propor- 
tions, and  of  species  which  have  now  passed  away. 
The  remains  of  these  creatures  have  been  found  in  the 
frozen  rivers  of  the  north,  and  they  appear  to  have 
roamed  over  regions  of  the  globe  where  their  more 
delicate  representatives  of  the  present  day  would  be 
unable  to  live.  During  this  era  the  ox,  horse,  and 
deer,  and  perhaps  other  animals,  destined  to  be  ser- 
viceable to  man,  became  inhabitants  of  the  earth. 
Lastly,  the  advent  of  man  may  be  considered  as  in- 
augurating a  new  and  distinct  epoch,  that  in  which 
we  now  are,  and  during  the  whole  of  which  the 
physical  conditions  of  existence  cannot  have  been 
very  materially  different  from  what  they  are  now. 
Thus,  the  reduction  of  the  earth  into  the  state  in 
which  we  now  behold  it  has  been  the  slowly  con- 
tinued work  of  ages.  The  races  of  organic  beings 
which  have  populated  its  surface  have  from  time  to 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  217 

time  passed  away,  and  been  supplanted  by  others, 
introduced  we  know  not  certainly  by  what  means, 
but  evidently  according  to  a  fixed  method  and  order, 
and  with  a  gradually  increasing  complexity  and 
fineness  of  organization,  until  we  come  to  man  as 
the  crowning  point  of  all.  Geologically  speaking,  the 
history  of  his  first  appearance  is  obscure,  nor  does 
archaeology  do  much  to  clear  this  obscurity.  Science 
has,  however,  made  some  efforts  towards  tracing  man 
to  his  cradle,  and  by  patient  observation  and  collec- 
tion of  facts  much  more  may  perhaps  be  done  in  this 
direction.  As  for  history  and  tradition,  they  afford 
little  upon  which  anything  can  be  built.  The  human- 
race,  like  each  individual  man,  has  forgotten  its  own 
birth,  and  the  void  of  its  early  years  has  been  filled 
up  by  imagination,  and  not  from  genuine  recollection. 
Thus  much  is  clear,  that  man's  existence  on  earth 
is  brief,  compared  with  the  ages  during  which  un- 
reasoning creatures  were  the  sole  possessors  of  the 
globe. 

We  pass  to  the  account  of  the  creation  contained 
in  the  Hebrew  record.  And  it  must  be  observed 
that  in  reality  two  distinct  accounts  are  given  us  in 
the  book  of  Genesis,  one  being  comprised  in  the  first 
chapter  and  the  first  three  verses  of  the  second,  the 
other  commencing  at  the  fourth  verse  of  the  second 
chapter  and  continuing  till  the  end.  This  is  so  philo- 
logically  certain  that  it  were  useless  to  ignore  it.  But 
even  those  who  may  be  inclined  to  contest  the  fact 
that  we  have  here  the  productions  of  two  different 
writers,  will  admit  that  the  account  begfinnineat  the  first 
verse  of  the  first  chapter,  and  ending  at  the  third  verse 
of  the  second,  is  a  complete  whole  in  itself.  And  to 
this  narrative,  in  order  not  to  complicate  the  subject 
unnecessarily,  we  intend  to  confine  ourselves.  It  will 
be  sufficient  for  our  purpose  to  inquire,  whether  this 
account  can  be  shown  to  be  in  accordance  with  our 
astronomical  and  geological  knowledge.     And  for  the 


218  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

right  understanding  of  it  the  whole  must  be  set  out, 
so  that  the  various  parts  may  be  taken  in  connexion 
with  one  another. 

AVe  are  told  that '  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.'  It  has  been  matter  of 
discussion  araong'st  theoloo-ians  whether  the  word 
'  created'  (Heb.  barci)  here  means  simply  shaped  or 
formed,  or  shaped  or  formed  out  of  nothing.  From 
the  use  of  the  verb  hara  in  other  passages,  it  appears 
that  it  does  not  necessarily  mean  to  make  out  of 
nothing,^  but  it  certainly  might  impliedly  mean  this 
in  a  case  so  peculiar  as  the  present.  The  phrase  '  the 
heaven  and  the  earth,'  is  evidently  used  to  signify 
the  universe  of  things,  inasmuch  as  the  heaven  in  its 
proper  signification  has  no  existence  until  the  second 
day.  It  is  asserted  then  that  God  shaped  the  whole 
material  universe,  whether  out  of  nothing,  or  out  of 
pre-existing  matter.  But  which  sense  the  writer 
really  intended  is  not  material  for  our  present  pur- 
pose to  inquire,  since  neither  astronomical  nor  geo- 
logical science  affects  to  state  anything  concerning 
the  first  origin  of  matter. 

In  the  second  verse  the  earliest  state  of  things  is 
described  ;  according  to  the  received  translation,  '  the 
earth  was  without  form  and  void.'  The  prophet  Jere- 
miah ^  uses  the  same  expression  to  describe  the  desola- 
tion of  the  earth's  surface  occasioned  by  God's  wrath, 
and  perhaps  the  words  '  empty  and  waste'  would  convey 
to  us  at  present  something  more  nearly  approaching  the 


^  This  appears  at  once  from  verse  21,  where  it  is  said  that  God  created 
(bara)  the  >;reat  whales;  and  from  verses  26  and  27,  in  the  first  of  which 
we  read,  '  God  said,  Let  us  make  (hasaJi)  man  in  our  image,'  and  in  the 
latter,  '  So  God  created  {hara)  man  in  his  image.'  In  neither  of  these 
cases  can  it  be  supposed  to  be  implied  that  the  whales,  or  man,  were  made 
out  of  nothing.  In  the  second  narrative,  another  word  is  used  for  the 
creation  of  man,  iatzer — to  mould;  and  his  formation  out  of  the  dust  is 
circumstantially  described. 

-  Chap.  iv.  23. 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  219 

meaning  of  tohu,  va-hohu,  than  those  which  our  trans- 
lators have  used. 

The  earth  itself  is  supposed  to  be  submerged  under 
the  waters  of  the  deep,  over  which  the  breath  of  God 
— the  air  or  wind — flutters  while  all  is  involved  in 
darkness.  The  first  special  creative  command  is  that 
which  bids  the  light  appear,  whereupon  daylight 
breaks  over  the  two  primeval  elements  of  earth  and 
water — the  one  lying  still  enveloped  by  the  other ; 
and  the  space  of  time  occupied  by  the  original  dark- 
ness and  the  light  which  succeeded,  is  described  as  the 
first  day.  Thus  light  and  the  measurement  of  time 
are  represented  as  existing  before  the  manifestation  of 
the  sun,  and  this  idea,  although  repugnant  to  our 
modern  knowledge,  has  not  in  former  times  appeared 
absurd.  Thus  we  find  Ambrose  {Hexaemeron,  lib.  4, 
cap.  3)  remarking  : — '  We  must  recollect  that  the 
light  of  day  is  one  thing,  the  light  of  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  another, — the  sun  by  his  rays  appearing  to 
add  lustre  to  the  daylight.  For  before  sunrise  the 
day  dawns,  but  is  not  in  full  refulgence,  for  the  mid- 
day sun  adds  still  further  to  its  splendour.'  We 
quote  this  passage  to  show  how  a  mind  unsophisticated 
by  astronomical  knowledge  understood  the  Mosaic 
statement ;  and  we  may  boldly  affirm  that  those  for 
whom  it  was  first  penned  could  have  taken  it  in  no 
other  sense  than  that  light  existed  before  and  inde- 
pendently of  the  sun,  nor  do  we  misrepresent  it  when 
we  affirm  this  to  be  its  natural  and  primary  meaning. 
How  far  we  are  entitled  to  give  to  the  writer's  words 
an  enigmatical  and  secondary  meaning,  as  contended 
by  those  who  attempt  to  conciliate  them  with  our 
present  knowledge,  must  be  considered  further  on. 

The  work  of  the  second  day  of  creation  is  to  erect 
the  vault  of  Heaven  (Heb.  rakia ;  Gr.  arepeoj/na  ;  Lat. 
-firmamentuiii)  which  is  represented  as  supporting  an 
ocean  of  water  above  it.  The  waters  are  said  to  be 
divided,  so  that  some  are  below,  some  above  the  vault. 


220  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

That  the  Hebrews  understood  the  sky,  firmament,  or 
heaven  to  be  a  permanent  solid  vault,  as  it  appears  to 
the  ordinary  observer,  is  evident  enough  from  various 
expressions  made  use  of  concerning  it.  It  is  said  to 
have  pillars  (Job  xxvi.  ii),  foundations  (2  Sam.  xxii.  8), 
doors  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  33),  and  windows  (Gen.  vii.  11).  No 
quibbling  about  the  derivation  of  the  word  rakia, 
which  is  literally  something  beaten  out,^  can  affect 
the  explicit  description  of  the  Mosaic  writer,  con- 
tained in  the  words  '  the  waters  that  are  above  the 
firmament,'  or  avail  to  show  that  he  was  aware  that 
the  sky  is  but  transparent  space. 

On  the  third  day,  at  the  command  of  God,  the  waters 
which  have  hitherto  concealed  the  earth  are  gathered 
together  in  one  place — the  sea, — and  the  dry  land 
emerges.  Upon  the  same  day  the  earth  brings  forth 
grass,  herb  yielding  seed  and  fruit  trees,  the  destined 
food  of  the  animals  and  of  man  (v.  29).  Nothing  is 
said  of  herbs  and  trees  which  are  not  serviceable  to 
this  purpose,  and  perhaps  it  may  be  contended,  since 
there  is  no  vegetable  production  which  may  not  pos- 
sibly be  useful  to  man,  or  which  is  not  preyed  upon 
by  some  animal,  that  in  this  description  the  whole 
terrestrial  flora  is  implied.  We  wish,  however,  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  fact,  that  trees 
and  plants  destined  for  food  are  those  which  are  par- 
ticularly singled  out  here  as  the  earliest  productions 
of  the  earth,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  this 
again  presently. 

On  the  fourth  day,  the  two  great  lights,  the  sun  and 
moon,  are  made  (Heb.  hasah)  and  ^^^'in  the  firmament  of 
heaven  to  give  light  to  the  earth,  but  more  particularly 
to  serve  as  the  means  of  measuring  time,  and  of 
marking  out  years,  days,  and  seasons.  This  is  the 
most  prominent   office   assigned  to   them   (v.    14-18). 

'  The  root  is  generally  applied  to  express  the  hammering  or  beating 
out  of  metal  plates ;  hence  something  beaten  or  spread  out.  It  has  been 
pretended  that  the  word  rakia  may  be  translated  ex^jaiLse,  so  as  merely  to 
mean  empty  space.     The  context  sufficiently  rebuts  this. 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  221 

The  formation  of  tlie  stars  is  mentioned  in  tlie  most 
cursory  manner.  It  is  not  said  out  of  what  materials 
all  tliese  bodies  were  made,  and  whether  the  writer 
regarded  them  as  already  existing,  and  only  waiting  to 
have  a  proper  place  assigned  them,  may  be  open  to 
question.  At  any  rate,  their  allotted  receptacle — the 
firmament — was  not  made  until  the  second  day,  nor 
were  they  set  in  it  until  the  fourth ;  vegetation,  be  it 
observed,  having  already  commenced  on  the  third,  and 
therefore  independently  of  the  warming  influence  of 
the  sun. 

On  the  fiftli  day  the  waters  are  called  into  pro- 
ductive activity,  and  bring  forth  fishes  and  marine 
animals,  as  also  the  birds  of  the  air.^  It  is  also  said 
that  Grod  created  or  formed  {bara)  great  whales  and 
other  creatures  of  the  water  and  air.  On  the  sixth, 
day  the  eartli  brings  forth  living  creatures,  cattle,  and 
reptiles,  and  also  '  the  beast  of  the  field,'  that  is,  the 
wild  beasts.  And  here  also  it  is  added  that  Grod  made 
{hasaJi)  tliese  creatures  after  their  several  kinds.  The 
formation  of  man  is  distinguished  by  a  variation  of 
tlie  creative  fiat.  '  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image  after 
our  likeness.'  Accordingly,  man  is  made  and  formed 
[barci)  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God,  a  phrase  which 
has  been  explained  away  to  mean  merely  '  perfect, 
sinless,'  although  the  Pentateuch  abounds  in  passages 
showing  that  the  Hebrews  contemplated  the  Divine 
being  in  the  visible  form  of  a  man,^  Modern  spiri- 
tualism has  so  entirely  banished  this  idea,  that  probably 
many  may  not  without  an  effort  be  able  to  accept  the 
plain  language  of  the  Hebrew  writer  in  its  obvious 
sense  in  the  26th  verse  of  the  ist  chapter  of  Genesis, 
though  tlie}^  will  have  no  difficulty  in  doing  so  in  the 
3rd  verse  of  the  5tli  chapter,  where  the  same  words 
'  image'  and  '  likeness'  are  used.  Man  is  said  to  have 
been  created  male  and  female,  and  the  narrative  contains 

^  III  the  second  narrative  of  creation,  in  which  no  distinction  of  days  is 
made,  the  birds  are  said  to  have  been  formed  out  of  the  ground.    Gen.  ii.  19. 
^  See  particularly  the  narrative  iu  Genesis  xviii. 


222  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

nothing  to  show  that  a  single  pair  only  is  intended.^ 
He  is  commanded  to  increase  and  multiply,  and  to 
assume  dominion  over  all  the  other  tribes  of  beings. 
The  whole  of  the  works  of  creation  being  complete, 
God  gives  to  man,  beast,  fowl,  and  creeping  thing, 
the  vegetable  productions  of  the  earth  as  their  ap- 
pointed food.  And  when  we  compare  the  verses 
Gren.  i.  29,  30,  with  Gen.  ix.  3,  in  which,  after  the 
Flood,  animals  are  given  to  man  for  food  in  addition  to 
the  green  herb,  it  is  difficult  not  to  come  to  the  con- 
clusion that  in  the  earliest  view  taken  of  creation,  men 
and  animals  were  supposed  to  have  been,  in  their  ori- 
ginal condition,  not  carnivorous.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  this  has  been  for  the  most  part  the  construction 
put  upon  the  words  of  the  Mosaic  writer,  until  a  clear 
perception  of  the  creative  design  which  destined  the 
tiger  and  lion  for  flesh-eaters,  and  latterly  the  geo- 
logical proof  of  flesh' eating  monsters  having  existed 
among  the  pre-adamite  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  ren- 
dered it  necessary  to  ignore  this  meaning. 

The  ist,  2nd,  and  3rd  verses  of  the  second  chapter 
of  Genesis,  which  have  been  most  absurdly  divided 
from  their  context,  conclude  the  narrative.^  On  the 
seventh  day  God  rests  from  His  work,  and  blesses 
\J^,  the  day  of  rest,  a  fact  which  is  referred  to  in  the 
"^  X^  Commandment  given  from  Sinai  as  the  ground  of  the 
h^  s,_/\  observance  of  Sabbatic  rest  imposed  upon  the  Hebrews. 
'*^  ti  /-^  Remarkable  as  this  narrative  is  for  simple  grandeur, 
^ly^  it  has  nothing  in  it  which  can  be  properly  called 
•  ^  *  '^-f-  P^^^ic^^-  ^^  bears  on  its  face  no  trace  of  mystical  or 
\^^  .  symbolical  meaning.  Things  are  called  by  their  right 
y»i.  -^1    names  with  a  certain  scientific  exactness  widely  ditie- 

r^>c^-' . . : 

(r-j^  ■■  „  -J^^  '  It  is  in  the  second  narrative  of  creation  that  the  formation  of  a  single 
-y  {h^,,  1  man,  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  is  described,  and  the  omission  to  create 
Ug  ^yv/""  a  female  at  the  same  time,  is  stated  to  have  been  repaired  by  the  sub- 
^  vA  sequent  formation  of  one  from  the  side  of  the  man. 

^  The  common  arrangement  of  the  Bible  in  chapters  is  of  comparatively 
modern  origin,  and  is  admitted,  on  all  hands,  to  have  no  authority  or  phi- 
lological worth  whatever.  In  many  cases,  the  division  is  most  preposterous, 
and  interferes  greatly  with  an  intelligent  perusal  of  the  text. 


F- 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  223 

rent  from  the  imaginative  cosmogonies  of  the  Greeks, 
in  which  the  powers  and  phenomena  of  nature  are 
invested  with  personality,  and  the  passions  and 
qualities  of  men  are  represented  as  individual  exis- 
tences. 

The  circumstances  related  in  the  second  narrative 
of  creation  are  indeed  such  as  to  give  at  least  some 
ground  for  the  supposition  tliat  a  mystical  interpreta- 
tion was  intended  to  be  given  to  it.  But  this  is  far 
from  being  the  case  with  the  first  narrative,  in  which 
none  but  a  professed  mystifier  of  the  school  of  Philo 
could  see  anything  but  a  plain  statement  of  facts. 
There  can  be  little  reasonable  dispute  then  as  to  the 
sense  in  which  the  Mosaic  narrative  was  taken  by 
those  who  first  heard  it,  nor  is  it  indeed  disputed  that 
for  centuries,  putting  apart  the  Philonic  mysticism, 
which  after  all  did  not  exclude  a  primary  sense,  its 
words  have  been  received  in  their  genuine  and  natural 
meaning.  That  this  meaning  \^  prima  facie  one  wholly 
adverse  to  the  present  astronomical  and  geological 
views  of  the  universe  is  evident  enough.  There  is  not 
a  mere  difference  through  deficiency.  It  cannot  be 
correctly  said  that  the  Mosaic  writer  simply  leaves 
out  details  which  modern  science  supplies,  and  that, 
therefore,  the  inconsistency  is  not  a  real  but  only  an 
apparent  one.  It  is  manifest  that  the  whole  account 
is  given  from  a  different  point  of  view  from  that  which 
we  now  unavoidably  take  ;  that  the  order  of  things  as 
we  now  know  them  to  be,  is  to  a  great  extent  reversed, 
although  here  and  there  we  may  pick  out  some  general 
analogies  and  points  of  resemblance.  Can  we  say 
that  the  Ptolemaic  system  of  astronomy  is  not  at 
variance  with  modern  science,  because  it  represents 
with  a  certain  degree  of  correctness  some  of  the 
apparent  motions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  ? 

The  task  which  sundry  modern  writers  have  im- 
posed upon  themselves  is  to  prove  that  the  Mosaic 
narrative,  however  apparently  at  variance  with  our 
knowledge,  is  essentially,  and  in  fact  true,  although 


224  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

never  understood  properly  until  modern  science  sup- 
plied the  necessary  commentary  and  explanation. 

Two  modes  of  conciliation  have  been  propounded 
which  have  enjoyed  considerable  popularity,  and  to 
these  two  we  shall  confine  our  attention. 

The  first  is  that  originally  brought  into  vogue  by 
Chalmers  and  adopted  by  the  late  Dr.  Buckland  in 
his  Bridgewater  Treatise,  and  which  is  probably  still 
received  by  many  as  a  sufficient  solution  of  all  diffi- 
culties. Dr.  Buckland's  treatment  of  the  case  may 
be  taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  line  of  argument 
adopted,  and  it  shall  be  given  in  his  own  words. 
*  The  word  beginning'  he  says,  *  as  applied  by  Moses  in 
the  first  verse  of  the  book  of  Grenesis,  expresses  an 
undefined  period  of  time  which  was  antecedent  to  the 
last  great  change  that  affected  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
and  to  the  creation  of  its  present  animal  and  vegetable 
inhabitants,  during  which  period  a  long  series  of 
operations  may  have  been  going  on ;  which  as  they 
are  wholly  unconnected  with  the  history  of  the  human 
race,  are  passed  over  in  silence  by  the  sacred  historian, 
whose  only  concern  was  barely  to  state,  that  the 
matter  of  the  universe  is  not  eternal  and  self-existent, 
but  was  originally  created  by  the  power  of  the  Al- 
mighty.' '  The  Mosaic  narrative  commences  with  a 
declaration  that  '  in  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heaven  and  the  earth.'  These  few  first  words  of 
Genesis  may  be  fairly  appealed  to  by  the  geologist  as 
containing  a  brief  statement  of  the  creation  of  the 
material  elements,  at  a  time  distinctly  preceding  the 
operations  of  the  first  day  ;  it  is  nowhere  affirmed  that 
God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth  in  \X\q  first  day, 
but  in  the  beginning  ;  this  beginning  may  have  been 
an  epoch  at  an  unmeasured  distance,  followed  by 
periods  of  undefined  duration  during  which  all  the 
physical  operations  disclosed  by  geology  were  going 
on.' 

*  The  first  verse  of  Genesis,  therefore,  seems  expli- 
citly  to   assert   the    creation   of    the  universe ;    the 


3fosaic  Cosmo(jony.  225 

heaven,  including  the  sidereal  systems  ;  and  the  earth, 
more  especially  specifying  our  own  planet,  as  the  sub- 
sequent scene  of  the  operations  of  the  six  days  about 
to  be  described ;  no  information  is  given  as  to  events 
which  may  have  occurred  upon  this  earth,  unconnected 
with  the  history  of  man,  between  the  creation  of  its 
component  matter  recorded  in  the  first  verse,  and  the 
era  at  which  its  history  is  resumed  in  the  second 
verse  ;  nor  is  any  limit  fixed  to  the  time  during 
which  these  intermediate  events  may  have  been  going 
on  :  millions  of  millions  of  years  may  have  occupied  the 
indefinite  interval,  between  the  beginning  in  which  God 
created  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  the  evening  or 
commencement  of  the  first  day  of  the  Mosaic  narrative.' 
'  The  second  verse  may  describe  the  condition  of 
the  earth  on  the  evening  of  this  first  day  (for  in  the 
Jewish  mode  of  computation  used  by  Moses  each  day 
is  reckoned  from  the  beginning  of  one  evening  to  the 
beginning  of  another  evening).  This  first  evening 
may  be  considered  as  the  termination  of  the  indefinite 
time  w^hich  followed  the  primeval  creation  announced 
in  the  first  verse,  and  as  the  commencement  of  the 
first  of  the  six  succeeding  days  in  which  the  earth  was 
to  be  filled  up,  and  peopled  in  a  manner  fit  for  the 
reception  of  mankind.  We  have  in  this  second  verse, 
a  distinct  mention  of  earth  and  waters,  as  already 
existing  and  involved  in  darkness ;  their  condition 
also  is  described  as  a  state  of  confusion  and  emptiness 
{tohu  bohii),  words  which  are  usually  interpreted  by 
the  vague  and  indefinite  Greek  term  chaos,  and  which 
may  be  geologically  considered  as  designating  the 
wreck  and  ruins  of  a  former  world.  At  this  inter- 
mediate point  of  time  the  preceding  undefined  geolo- 
gical periods  had  terminated,  a  new  series  of  events 
commenced,  and  the  work  of  the  first  morning  of  this 
new  creation  was  the  calling  forth  of  light  from  a 
temporary  darkness,  which  had  overspread  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  earth.' 

Q 


226  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

With  regard  to  the  formation  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
Dr.  Bucklaud  ohserves,  p.  27,  'We  are  not  told  that 
the  substance  of  the  sun  and  moon  was  first  called 
into  existence  on  the  fourth  day ;  the  text  may 
equally  imply  that  these  bodies  were  then  prepared 
and  appointed  to  certain  ofiices,  of  high  importance 
to  mankind,  '  to  give  light  upon  the  earth,  and 
to  rule  over  the  day,  and  over  the  night,  to  be 
for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and  for 
years.'  The  fact  of  their  creation  had  been  stated 
before  in  the  first  verse.' 

The  question  of  the  meaning  of  the  word  ^«m,  create, 
has  been  previously  touched  upon  ;    it  has  been  ac- 
knowledged by  good  critics  that  it  does  not  of  itself 
necessarily   imply  'to  make  out    of  nothing,'  upon 
the  simple  ground  that  it  is  found  used  in  cases  where 
such    a   meaning    would   be    inapplicable.     But  the 
diflEiculty  of  giving  to  it  the  interpretation  contended 
for  by  Dr.   Buckland,  and  of  uniting  with  this  the 
assumption  of  a  six  days'  creation,  such  as  that  de- 
scribed in  Genesis,  at  a  comparatively  recent  period,  lies 
in  this,  that  the  heaven  itself  is  distinctly  said  to  have 
been  formed  by  the  division  of  the  waters  on  the  second 
day.     Consequently  during  the  indefinite  ages  which 
elapsed  from  the  primal  creation  of  matter  until  the 
first  Mosaic  day  of  creation,  there  was  no  sky,  no 
local  habitation  for  the  sun,   moon,  and   stars,  even 
supposing  those  bodies  to  have  been  included  in  the 
original  material.      Dr.  Buckland  does  not  touch  this 
obvious  difficulty,  without  which  his  argument  that 
the  sun  and  moon  might  have  been  contemplated  as  pre- 
existing, although  they  are  not  stated  to  have  been  set 
in  the  heaven  until  the  fourth  day,  is  of  no  value  at  all. 
Dr.  Buckland  appears   to   assume  that  when  it   is 
said  that  the  heaven  and  the  earth  were  created  in  the 
beginning,  it  is    to    be    understood  that  they  were 
created  in  their  present  form  and  state  of  completeness, 
the  heaven  raised  above   the  earth  as  we  see  it,  or 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  227 

seem  to  see  it  now.  This  is  the  fallacy  of  his  argument. 
The  circumstantial  description  of  the  framing  of  the 
heaven  out  of  the  waters,  proves  that  the  words 
'  heaven  and  earth,'  in  the  first  verse,  must  be  taken 
either  proleptically,  as  a  general  expression  for  the 
universe,  the  matter  of  the  universe  in  its  crude  and 
unformed  shape,  or  else  the  word  hara  must  mean 
formed,  not  created,  the  writer  intending  to  say, '  God 
formed  the  heaven  and  earth  in  manner  following,'  in 
which  case  heaven  is  used  in  its  distinct  and  proper 
sense.  But  these  two  senses  cannot  be  united  in  the 
manner  covertly  assumed  in  Dr.  Buckland's  argument. 

Having,  however,  thus  endeavoured  to  make  out  that 
the  Mosaic  account  does  not  negative  the  idea  that 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  had  '  been  created  at  the 
indefinitely  distant  time  designated  by  the  word 
beginning,'  he  is  reduced  to  describe  the  primeval 
darkness  of  the  first  day  as  '  a  temporary  darkness, 
produced  by  an  accumulation  of  dense  vapours  upon 
the  face  of  the  deep.'  '  An  incipient  dispersion  of 
these  vapours  may  have  readmitted  light  to  the  earth, 
upon  the  first  day,  whilst  the  exciting  cause  of  light 
was  obscured,  and  the  further  purification  of  the  atmo- 
sphere upon  the  fourth  day,  may  have  caused  the  sun 
and  moon  and  stars  to  re -appear  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven,  to  assume  their  new  relations  to  the  newly 
modified  earth  and  to  the  human  race.' 

It  is  needless  to  discuss  the  scientific  probability  of 
this  hypothesis,  but  the  violence  done  to  the  grand 
and  simple  words  of  the  Hebrew  writer  must  strike 
every  mind.  '  And  God  said.  Let  there  be  light — and 
there  was  light — and  God  saw  the  light  that  it  was 
good.  And  God  divided  the  light  from  the  darkness, 
and  God  called  the  light  day,  and  the  darkness  called 
he  night ;  and  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the 
first  day.'  Can  any  one  sensible  of  the  value  of  words 
suppose,  that  nothing  more  is  here  described,  or 
intended   to  be  described,  than  the  partial  clearing 


228  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

away  of  a  fog  ?  Can  sucli  a  manifestation  of  light  have 
been  dignified  by  the  appellation  of  day  ?  Is  not  this 
reducing  the  noble  description  which  has  been  the 
admiration  of  ages  to  a  pitiful  caput  mortuum  of 
empty  verbiage? 

What  were  the  newrelations^\i\Qk\.  theheavenly bodies 
according  to  Dr.  Buckland's  view,  assumed  to  the 
newly  modified  earth  and  to  the  human  race  ?  They 
had,  as  we  well  know,  marked  out  seasons,  days  and 
years,  and  had  given  light  for  ages  before  to  the  earth, 
and  to  the  animals  which  preceded  man  as  its  inha- 
bitants, as  is  shown,  Dr.  Buckland  admits,  by  the  eyes 
of  fossil  animals,  optical  instruments  of  the  same  con- 
struction as  those  of  the  animals  of  our  days,  and  also 
by  the  existence  of  vegetables  in  the  early  world,  to  the 
development  of  which  light  must  have  been  as  essential 
then  as  now. 

The  hypothesis  adopted  by  Dr.  Buckland  was  first 
promulgated  at  a  time  when  the  gradual  and  regular 
formation  of  the  earth's  strata  was  not  seen  or  ad- 
mitted so  clearly  as  it  is  now.  Geologists  were  more 
disposed  to  believe  in  great  catastrophes  and  sudden 
breaks.  Buckland's  theory  supposes  that  previous  to 
the  appearance  of  the  present  races  of  animals  and 
vegetables  there  was  a  great  gap  in  the  globe's  history, 
— that  the  earth  was  completely  depopulated,  as  well 
of  marine  as  land  animals  ;  and  that  the  creation  of  all 
existing  plants  and  animals  was  coa^val  with  that  of 
man.  This  theory  is  by  no  means  supported  by 
geological  phenomena,  and  is,  we  suppose,  now  rejected 
by  all  geologists  whose  authority  is  valuable.  Thus 
writes  Hugh  Miller  in  1857 — ^' I  certainly  did  once 
believe  with  Chalmers  and  with  Buckland  that  the  six 
days  were  simply  natural  daysof  twenty-four  hours  each 
— that  they  had  comprised  the  entire  work  of  the 
existing  creation — and  that  the  latest  of  the  geologic 
ages  was  separated  by  a  great  chaotic  gap  from  our 
own.     My  labours  at  the  time  as  a  practical  geologist 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  229 

liad  been  very  much  restricted  to  the  palaeozoic  and 
secondary  rocks,  more  especially  to  the  old  red  and 
carboniferous  systems  of  the  one  division,  and  the 
oolitic  system  of  the  other;  and  the  long-extinct 
organisms  which  I  found  in  them  certainly  did  not 
conflict  with  the  \iew  of  Chalmers.  All  I  found 
necessary  at  the  time  to  the  work  of  reconciliation 
was  some  scheme  that  would  permit  me  to  assign  to 
the  earth  a  high  antiquity,  and  to  regard  it  as  the 
scene  of  many  succeeding  creations.  During  the 
last  nine  years,  however,  I  have  spent  a  few  weeks 
every  autumn  in  exploring  the  late  formations,  and 
acquainting  myself  with  their  particular  organisms. 
I  have  traced  them  upwards  from  the  raised  beaches 
and  old  coast  lines  of  the  human  period,  to  the  brick 
clays,  Clyde  beds,  and  drift  and  boulder  deposits  of 
the  Pleistocene  era ;  and  again  from  them,  with  the 
help  of  museums  and  collections,  up  through  the 
mammaliferous  crag  of  Enghmd  to  its  red  and  coral 
crags ;  and  the  conclusion  at  which  I  have  been  com- 
pelled to  arrive  is,  that  for  many  long  ages  ere  man 
was  ushered  into  being,  not  a  few  of  his  humbler  con- 
temporaries of  the  fields  and  woods  enjoyed  life  in 
their  present  haunts,  and  that  for  thousands  of  years 
anterior  to  even  their  appearance,  many  of  the  existing 
molluscs  lived  in  our  seas.  That  day  during  which 
the  present  creation  came  into  being,  and  in  which 
Grod,  when  he  had  made  '  the  beast  of  the  earth  after 
his  kind,  and  the  cattle  after  their  kind,'  at  length 
terminated  the  work  by  moulding  a  creature  in  His 
own  image,  to  whom  He  gave  dominion  over  them 
all,  was  not  a  brief  period  of  a  few  hours'  duration, 
but  extended  over,  mayhap,  millenniums  of  centuries. 
No  blank  chaotic  gap  of  death  and  darkness  separated 
the  creation  to  which  man  belongs  from  that  of  the 
old  extinct  elephant,  hippopotamus,  and  hysena ;  for 
familiar  animals,  such  as  the  red  deer,  the  roe,  the  fox, 
the  wild  cat,  and  the  badger,  lived  throughout  the 


230  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

period  whicli  connected  their  time  with  our  own ;  and 
so  I  have  been  compelled  to  hold  that  the  days  of 
creation  were  not  natural  but  prophetic  days,  and 
stretched  far  back  into  the  bygone  eternity.'^ 

Hugh  Miller  will  be  admitted  by  many  as  a  com- 
petent witness  to  the  untenability  of  the  theory  of 
Chalmers  and  Buckland  on  mere  geological  grounds. 
He  had,  indeed,  a  theory  of  his  own  to  propose,  which 
we  shall  presently  consider;  but  we  may  take  his 
word  that  it  was  not  without  the  compulsion  of  what 
he  considered  irresistible  evidence  that  he  relinquished 
a  view  which  would  have  saved  him  infinite  time  and 
labour,  could  he  have  adhered  to  it. 

But  whether  contemplated  from  a  geological  point 
of  view,  or  whether  from  a  philological  one,  that  is, 
with  reference  to  the  value  of  words,  the  use  of  lan- 
guage, and  the  ordinary  rules  which  govern  writers 
whose  object  it  is  to  make  themselves  understood  by 
those  to  whom  their  works  are  immediately  addressed, 
the  interpretation  proposed  by  Buckland  to  be  given 
to  the  Mosaic  description  will  not  bear  a  moment's 
serious  discussion.  It  is  plain,  from  the  whole  tenor 
of  the  narrative,  that  the  writer  contemplated  no  such 
representation  as  that  suggested,  nor  could  any  such 
idea  have  entered  into  the  minds  of  those  to  whom 
the  account  was  first  given.  Dr.  Buckknd  endea- 
vours to  make  out  that  we  have  here  simply  a  case  of 
leaving  out  facts  which  did  not  particularly  concern 
the  writer's  purpose,  so  that  he  gave  an  account  true 
so  far  as  it  went,  though  imperfect.  '  We  may  fairly 
ask,'  he  argues,  '  of  those  persons  who  consider  phy- 
sical science  a  fit  subject  for  revelation,  what  point 
they  can  imagine  short  of  a  communication  of  Omni- 
science at  which  such  a  revelation  might  have  stopped 
without  imperfections  of  omission,  less  in  degree,  but 


'  Testimony  of  the  Rocks,  p.  lo. 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  231 

similar  in.  kind,  to  tliat  wliicli  they  impute  to  tlie 
existino^  narrative  of  Moses  ?  A  revelation  of  so 
much  only  of  astronomy  as  was  known  to  Copernicus 
would  have  seemed  imperfect  after  the  discoveries  of 
Newton ;  and  a  revelation  of  the  science  of  Newton 
would  have  appeared  defective  to  La  Place :  a  revela- 
tion of  all  the  chemical  knowledge  of  the  eighteenth 
century  would  have  been  as  deficient  in  comparison 
with  the  information  of  the  present  day,  as  what  is 
now  known  in  this  science  will  probably  appear  before 
the  termination  of  another  age ;  in  the  whole  circle 
of  sciences  there  is  not  one  to  which  this  argument 
may  not  be  extended,  until  we  should  require  from 
revelation  a  full  development  of  all  the  mysterious 
agencies  that  uphold  the  mechanism  of  the  material 
world.'  Buckland's  question  is  quite  inapplicable  to  the 
real  difficulty,  which  is,  not  that  circumstantial  details 
are  omitted — that  might  reasonably  be  expected, — but 
that  what  is  told,  is  told  so  as  to  convey  to  ordinary 
apprehensions  an  impression  at  variance  with  facts. 
We  are  indeed  told  that  certain  writers  of  antiquity 
had  already  anticipated  the  hypothesis  of  the  geologist, 
and  two  of  the  Christian  fathers,  Augustine  and 
Theodoret,  are  referred  to  as  having  actually  held 
that  a  wide  interval  elapsed  between  the  first  act  of 
creation,  mentioned  in  the  Mosaic  account,  and  the 
commencement  of  the  six  days'  work.^  If,  however, 
they  arrived  at  such  a  conclusion,  it  was  simply  be- 
cause, like  the  modern  geologist,  they  had  theories  of 
their  own  to  support,  which  led  them  to  make  some- 
what similar  hypotheses. 

'  After  all,'  says  Buckland,  '  it  should  be  recollected 
that  the  question  is  not  respecting  the  correctness  of 
the  Mosaic  narrative,  but  of  our  interpretation  of  it,' 
a   proposition   which   can   hardly  be  sufficiently  re- 


'  See  Dr.  Pusey's  note — Buckland's  Bridgewater  Treatise,  pp.  24,  25. 


232  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

probated.  Such  a  doctrine,  carried  out  unreservedly, 
strikes  at  the  root  of  critical  morality.  It  may,  in- 
deed, be  sometimes  possible  to  give  two  or  three  dif- 
ferent interpretations  to  one  and  the  same  passage, 
even  in  a  modern  and  familiar  tongue,  in  which  case 
this  may  arise  from  the  unskilfulness  of  the  writer  or 
speaker  who  has  failed  clearly  to  express  his  thought. 
In  a  dead  or  foreign  language  the  difficulty  may  arise 
from  our  own  want  of  familiarity  witli  its  forms  of 
speech,  or  in  an  ancient  book  we  may  be  puzzled  by 
allusions  and  modes  of  thought  the  key  to  which  has 
been  lost.  But  it  is  no  part  of  the  commentator's 
or  interpreter's  business  to  introduce  obscurity  or  find 
difficulties  where  none  exist,  and  it  cannot  be  pre- 
tended that,  taking  it  as  a  question  of  the  use  of 
words  to  express  thoughts,  there  are  any  peculiar 
difficulties  about  understanding  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis,  whether  in  its  original  Hebrew  or  in  our 
common  translation,  which  represents  the  original 
with  all  necessary  exactness.  The  difficulties  arise 
for  the  first  time,  when  we  seek  to  import  a  meaning 
into  the  language  which  it  certainly  never  could  have 
conveyed  to  those  to  whom  it  was  originally  addressed. 
Unless  we  go  the  whole  length  of  supposing  the  sim- 
ple account  of  the  Hebrew  cosmogonist  to  be  a  series 
of  awkward  equivocations,  in  which  he  attempted  to 
give  a  representation  widely  different  from  the  facts, 
yet,  without  trespassing  against  literal  truth,  we  can 
find  no  difficulty  in  interpreting  his  words.  Although 
language  may  be,  and  often  has  been,  used  for  the  pur- 
pose, not  of  expressing,  but  concealing  thought,  no  such 
charge  can  fairly  be  laid  against  the  Hebrew  writer. 

'  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,'  says  Dr.  Buckland, 
*  that  the  object  of  the  account  was,  not  to  state 
in  ivhat  manner,  but  hy  whom  the  world  was  made.' 
Every  one  must  see  that  this  is  an  unfounded  asser- 
tion, inasmuch  as  the  greater  part  of  the  narra- 
tive consists  in  a  minute  and  orderly  description  of 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  233 

the  manner  in  which  things  were  made.  We  can 
know  nothing  as  to  the  object  of  the  account,  except 
from  the  account  itself.  What  the  writer  meant 
to  state  is  just  that  which  he  has  stated,  for  all  that 
we  can  know  to  the  contrary.  Or  can  we  seriously  be- 
lieve that  if  appealed  to  by  one  of  his  Hebrew  hearers 
or  readers  as  to  his  intention,  he  would  have  replied, 
My  only  object  in  what  I  have  written  is  to  inform 
you  that  God  made  the  world ;  as  to  the  manner  of 
His  doing  it,  of  which  I  have  given  so  exact  an  ac- 
count, I  have  no  intention  that  my  words  should  be 
taken  in  their  literal  meaning. 

We  come  then  to  this,  that  if  we  sift  the  Mosaic 
narrative  of  all  definite  meaning,  and  only  allow  it  to 
be  the  expression  of  the  most  vague  generalities,  if 
we  avow  that  it  admits  of  no  certain  interpretation, 
of  none  that  may  not  be  shifted  and  altered  as  often 
as  we  see  fit,  and  as  the  exigencies  of  geology  may 
require,  then  may  we  reconcile  it  with  what  science 
teaches.  This  mode  of  dealing  with  the  subject  has 
been  broadly  advocated  by  a  recent  writer  of  mathe- 
matical eminence,  who  adopts  the  Bucklandian  hypo- 
thesis, a  passage  from  whose  work  we  shall  quote. ^ 

'  The  Mosaic  account  of  the  six  days'  work  is  thus 
harmonized  by  some.  On  the  first  day,  while  the 
earth  was  '  without  form  and  void,'  the  result  of  a 
previous  convulsion  in  nature,  '  and  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep/  God  commanded  light 
to  shine  upon  the  earth.  This  may  have  been 
effected  by  such  a  clearing  of  the  thick  and  loaded 
atmosphere,  as  to  allow  the  light  of  the  sun  to  pene^ 
trate  its  mass  with  a  suffVised  illumination,  sufficient 
to  dispel  the  total  darkness  which  had  prevailed,  but 
proceeding  from  a  source  not  yet  apparent  on  the 
earth.     On  the  second  day  a  separation  took  place  in 


^  Scripture  and  Science  not  at   Variance.     By  J.    H.   Pratt,   M.A., 
Archdeacon  of  Calcutta,  1859.     Third  edition,  p.  34. 


234  Mosaic  Cosmogony . 

the  thick  vapoury  mass  which  lay  upon  the  earth, 
dense  clouds  were  gathered  up  aloft  and  separated  by 
an  exjjanse  from  the  waters  and  vapours  below.  On 
the  third  day  these  lower  vapours,  or  fogs  and  mists 
wdiich  hitherto  concealed  the  earth,  were  condensed 
and  gathered  with  the  other  waters  of  the  earth  into 
seas,  and  the  dry  land  appeared.  Then  grass  and 
herbs  began  to  grow.  On  the  fourth  day  the  clouds 
and  vapours  so  rolled  into  separate  masses,  or  were  so 
entirely  absorbed  into  the  air  itself,  that  the  sun  shone 
forth  in  all  its  brilliancy,  the  visible  source  of  light 
and  heat  to  the  renovated  earth,  while  the  moon  and 
stars  gave  light  by  night,  and  God  appointed  them 
henceforth  for  signs,  and  for  seasons,  and  for  days, 
and  for  years,  to  his  creatures  whom  he  was  about  to 
call  into  existence,  as  he  afterwards  set  or  appointed 
his  bow  in  the  clouds,  which  had  appeared  ages  before, 
to  be  a  sign  to  Noah  and  his  descendants.  The  fifth 
and  sixth  days'  work  needs  no  comment. 

'  According  to  this  explanation,  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis  does  not  pretend  (as  has  been  generally 
assumed)  to  be  a  cosmogony,  or  an  account  of  the 
original  creation  of  the  material  universe.  The  only 
cosmogony  which  it  contains,  in  that  sense  at  least,  is 
confined  to  the  sublime  declaration  of  the  first  verse, 
'  In  the  beo-innincr  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.'  The  inspired  record  thus  stepping  over  an 
interval  of  indefinite  ages  with  which  man  has  no 
direct  concern,  proceeds  at  once  to  narrate  the  events 
preparatory  to  the  introduction  of  man  on  the  scene ; 
employing  phraseology  strictly  faithful  to  the  appear- 
ances which  would  have  met  the  e3^e  of  man,  could  he 
have  been  a  spectator  on  the  earth  of  what  passed 
during  those  six  days.  All  this  has  been  commonly 
supposed  to  be  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  general 
truth  announced  in  the  first  verse,  in  short,  a  cosmo- 
gony :  such  was  the  idea  of  Joseplms  ;  such  probably 
Avas  the  idea  of  our  translators ;    for  their  version. 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  235 

without  form  and  void,  points  to  the  primaeval  chaos, 
out  of  which  all  things  were  then  supposed  to  emerge  ; 
and  these  words  standing  in  limine,  have  tended,  per- 
haps more  than  anything  else,  to  foster  the  idea  of  a 
cosmogony  in  the  minds  of  general  readers  to  this 
very  day. 

'  The  foregoing  explanation  many  have  now  adopted. 
It  is  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  if  it  be  a  possible  ex- 
planation, and  if  it  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  case. 
That  it  is  possible  in  itself,  is  plain  from  the  fact 
above  established,  that  the  Scriptures  wisely  speak  on 
natural  things  according  to  their  appearances  rather 
than  their  physical  realities.  It  meets  the  difficulties 
of  the  case,  because  all  the  difficulties  hitherto  started 
against  this  chapter  on  scientific  grounds  proceeded 
on  the  principle  that  it  is  a  cosmogony ;  which  this 
explanation  repudiates,  and  thus  disposes  of  the  diffi- 
culties. It  is  therefore  an  explanation  satisfactory 
to  my  own  mind.  I  may  be  tempted  to  regret  that  I 
can  gain  no  certain  scientific  information  from  Genesis 
regarding  the  process  of  the  original  creation  ;  but  I 
resist  the  temptation,  remembering  the  great  object  for 
which  the  Scripture  was  given — to  tell  man  of  his 
origin  and  fall,  and  to  draw  his  mind  to  his  Creator 
and  Redeemer.  Scripture  was  not  designed  to  teach 
us  natural  philosophy,  and  it  is  vain  to  attempt  to 
make  a  cosmogony  out  oi  its  statements.  The  Al- 
mighty declares  himself  the  originator  of  all  things, 
but  he  condescends  not  to  describe  the  process  or  the 
laws  by  which  he  worked.  All  this  he  leaves  for 
reason  to  decipher  from  the  phenomena  which  his 
world  displays. 

'  This  explanation,  however,  I  do  not  wish  to  impose 
on  Scripture ;  and  am  fully  prepared  to  surrender  it, 
should  further  scientific  discovery  suggest  another 
better  fitted  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  the  case.' 

We  venture  to  think  that  the  world  at  large  will 
continue  to  consider  the  account  in  the  first  chapter  of 


236  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

Genesis  to  be  a  cosmogony.  But  as  it  is  here  ad- 
mitted that  it  does  not  describe  physical  realities, 
but  only  outward  appearances,  that  is,  gives  a  de- 
scription false  in  fact,  and  one  which  can  teach  us  no 
scientific  truth  whatever,  it  seems  to  matter  little 
what  we  call  it.  If  its  description  of  the  events  of  the 
six  days  which  it  comprises  be  merely  one  of  appear- 
ances and  not  of  realities,  it  can  teach  us  nothing 
regarding  them.      » 

Dissatisfied  with  the  scheme  of  conciliation  which 
has  been  discussed,  other  geologists  have  proposed  to 
give  an  entirely  mythical  or  enigmatical  sense  to  the 
Mosaic  narrative,  and  to  consider  the  creative  days 
described  as  vast  periods  of  time.  This  plan  was 
long  ago  suggested,  but  it  has  of  late  enjoyed  a  high 
degree  of  popularity,  through  the  advocacy  of  the 
Scotch  geologist  Hugh  Miller,  an  extract  from  whose 
work  has  been  already  quoted.  Dr.  Buckland  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  first  form  in  which  this 
theory  was  propounded,  and  of  the  grounds  upon 
which  he  rejected  it  in  favour  of  that  of  Chalmers  •} — 

'  A  third  opinion  has  been  suggested  both  by 
learned  theologians  and  by  geologists,  and  on 
grounds  independent  of  one  another — viz.,  that 
the  days  of  the  Mosaic  creation  need  not  be  un- 
derstood to  imply  the  same  length  of  time  which 
is  now  occupied  by  a  single  revolution  of  the  globe, 
but  successive  periods  each  of  great  extent ;  and  it 
has  been  asserted  that  the  order  of  succession  of  the 
organic  remains  of  a  former  world  accords  with  the 
order  of  creation  recorded  in  Genesis.  This  assertion, 
though  to  a  certain  degree  apparently  correct,  is  not 
entirely  supported  by  geological  facts,  since  it  appears 
that  the  most  ancient  marine  animals  occur  in  the 
same  division  of  the  lowest  transition  strata  with  the 


^  Brldgewater  Treatise,  p.  17. 


Mosaic  Cosmo ff 0721/.  237 

earliest  remains  of  vegetables,  so  tliat  the  evidence  of 
organic  remains,  as  far  as  it  goes,  shows  the  origin  of 
plants  and  animals  to  have  been  contemporaneous  :  if 
any  creation  of  vegetables  preceded  that  of  animals, 
no  evidence  of  such  an  event  has  yet  been  discovered 
by  the  researches  of  geology.  Still  there  is,  T  believe, 
no  sound  critical  or  theological  objection  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  word  *  day'  as  meaning  a  long 
period.' 

Archdeacon  Pratt  also  summarily  rejects  this  view 
as  untenable  •} — 

'  There  is  one  other  class  of  interpreters,  however, 
with  whom  I  find  it  impossible  to  agree, — I  mean 
those  who  take  the  six  days  to  be  six  periods  of  un- 
known indefinite  length.  This  is  the  princij)le  of 
interpretation  in  a  work  on  the  Creation  and  the  Fall, 
by  the  Eev.  D.  Macdonald  ;  also  in  Mr.  Hugh  Miller's 
posthumous  work,  the  Testiynoyiy  of  the  Rocks,  and  also 
in  an  admirable  treatise  on  the  PrcB-Adamite  Earth 
in  Dr.  Lardner's  Museum  of  Science.  In  this  last  it 
is  the  more  surprising  because  the  successive  chapters 
are  in  fact  an  accumulation  of  evidence  which  points 
the  other  way,  as  a  writer  in  the  Christiaii  Observer, 
Jan.  1858,  has  conclusively  shown.  The  late  M. 
D'Orbign}'  has  demonstrated  in  his  Prodrome  de 
Palceontologie,  after  an  elaborate  examination  of  vast 
multitudes  of  fossils,  that  there  have  been  at  least 
twenty-nine  distinct  periods  of  animal  and  vegetable 
existence — that  is,  twenty-nine  creations  separated  one 
from  another  by  catastrophes  which  have  swept  away 
the  species  existing  at  the  time,  with  a  very  few 
solitary  exceptions,  never  exceeding  one  and  a- half  per 
cent,  of  the  Avhole  number  discovered  which  have 
either  survived  the  catastrophe,  or  have  been  erro- 
neously designated.     But  not  a  single  species  of  the 


^  Science  and  Scripture  not  at  Variance,  p.  40,  note. 


238  Mosaic  Cosmogoiiy. 

preceding  period  survived  tlie  last  of  tliese  catastrophes, 
and  this  closed  the  Tertiary  period  and  ushered  in 
the  Human  period.  The  evidence  adduced  by  M. 
D'Orbigny  shows  that  both  plants  and  animals  ap- 
peared in  every  one  of  those  twenty-nine  periods. 
The  notion,  therefore,  that  the  '  days'  of  Grenesis 
represent  periods  of  creation  from  the  beginning  of 
things  is  at  once  refuted.  The  parallel  is  destroyed 
both  in  the  number  of  the  periods  (thirty,  including 
the  Azoic,  instead  of  six),  and  also  in  the  character 
of  the  tilings  created.  No  argument  could  be  more 
complete ;  and  yet  the  vs^riter  of  the  Free- Adamite 
Uarih,  in  the  last  two  pages,  sums  up  his  lucid  sketch 
of  M,  D'Orbigny 's  researches  by  referring  the  account 
in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  to  the  whole  creation 
from  the  beginning  of  all  things,  a  selection  of  epochs 
being  made,  as  he  imagines,  for  the  six  days  or 
periods.' 

In  this  trenchant  manner  do  theological  geologists 
overthrow  one  another's  theories.  However,  Hugh 
Miller  was  perfectly  aware  of  the  difficulty  involved 
in  his  view  of  the  question,  and  we  shall  endeavour  to 
show  the  reader  the  manner  in  which  he  deals  with  it. 

He  begins  bypointing  out  that  the  families  of  vegeta- 
bles and  animals  were  introduced  upon  earth  as  nearly 
as  possible  according  to  the  great  classes  in  which 
naturalists  have  arranged  the  modern  flora  and  fauna. 
According  to  the  arrangement  of  Lindley,  he  observes 
— '  Commencing  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale  we  find 
the  thallogens,  or  flowerless  plants,  which  lack  proper 
stems  and  leaves — a  class  which  includes  all  the  algse. 
Next  succeed  the  acrogens,  or  flowerless  plants  that 
possess  both  stems  and  leaves — such  as  the  ferns  and 
their  allies.  Next,  omitting  an  inconspicuous  class, 
represented  by  but  a  few  parasitical  plants  incapable 
of  preservation  as  fossils,  come  the  endogens — 
rnonocotyledonous  flowering  plants,  that  include  the 
palms,    the   liliacese,  and   several   other   families,  all 


Mosaic  Comiogony.  239 

characterized  by  tlie  parallel  venation  of  their  leaves. 
Next,    omitting   another   inconspicuous    tribe,    there 
follows    a   very   important   class,    the    gymnogens — 
polycotyledonous  trees,  represented  by  the  coniferse 
and  cycadacese.  And  last  of  all  come  the  dicotyledonous 
exogens — a  class  to  which  all  our  fruit  and  what  are 
known   as   our  forest  trees  belong,  with  a  vastly  pre- 
ponderating majority  of  the  herbs   and  flowers  that 
impart    fertility    and    beauty   to     our    gardens    and 
meadows.'     The  order  in  which  fossils  of  these  several 
classes   appear   in    the    strata,   Hugh   Miller    states 
to  be  as  follows  : — In  the  Lower  Silurian  we  find  only 
thallogens,  in  the  Upper  Silurian  acrogens  are  added. 
The  gymnogens  appear  rather  prematurely,  it  might 
be  thought,  in  the   old  red  sandstone,  the  endogens 
(monocotyledonous)  coming  after  them  in  the  carboni- 
ferous group.     Dicotyledonous  exogens  enter   at  the 
close  of  the  oolitic  period,  and  come  to  their  greatest 
development  in  the  tertiary.     Again,  the  animal  tribes 
have  been  introduced  in  an  order  closely  agreeing  with 
the  geological  divisions  established  by  Cuvier.     In  the 
Silurian  beds  the  invertebrate  creatures,  the  radiata, 
articulata,  and  mollusca,  appear  simultaneously.     At 
the  close  of  the  period,  fishes,  the  lowest  of  the  verte- 
brata,  appear  :  before  the  old  red  sandstone  period  had 
passed  away,  reptiles  had  come  into  existence  ;  birds, 
and  the  marsupial  mammals,  enter  in  the  oolitic  period  ; 
placental  mammals  in  the  tertiary  ;  and  man  last  of  all. 
Now,  these  facts  do  certainly  tally  to  some  extent 
with  tlie  Mosaic  account,  which  represents  fish  and  fowl 
as  having  been  produced  from  the  waters  on  the  fifth 
day,  reptiles  and  mammals  from  the  earth    on  the 
sixth,  and  man  as  made  last  of  all.     The  agreement, 
however,  is  far  from  exact,  as  according  to  geological 
evidence,  reptiles  would  appear  to  have  existed  ages 
before  birds  and  mammals,  whereas  here  the  creation 
of  birds  is  attributed  to  the  fifth  day,  that  of  reptiles 
to  the  sixth.    There  remains,  moreover,  the  insuperable 


240  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

difficulty  of  tlie  plants  and  trees  being  represented 
as  made  on  the  third  day — that  is,  more  than  an  age 
before  fishes  and  birds ;    which  is  clearly  not  the  case. 

Although,  therefore,  there  is  a  superficial  resem- 
blance in  the  Mosaic  account  to  that  of  the  geologists, 
it  is  evident  that  the  bare  theory  that  a  '  day'  means 
an  age  or  immense  geological  period  might  be  made 
to  yield  some  rather  strange  results.  What  becomes 
of  the  evening  and  morning  of  which  each  day  is  said 
to  have  consisted  ?  Was  each  geologic  age  divided  into 
two  long  intervals,  one  all  darkness,  the  other  all  light  ? 
and  if  so,  what  became  of  the  plants  and  trees  created 
in  the  third  day  or  period,  when  the  evening  of  the 
fourth  day  (the  evenings,  be  it  observed,  precede 
the  mornings)  set  in  ?  They  must  have  passed 
through  half  a  seculum  of  total  darkness,  not  even 
cheered  by  that  dim  light  which  the  sun,  not  yet  com- 
pletely manifested,  supplied  on  the  morning  of  the  third 
day.  Such  an  ordeal  would  have  completely  destroyed 
the  whole  vegetable  creation,  and  yet  we  find  that  it 
survived,  and  was  appointed  on  the  sixth  day  as  the 
food  of  man  and  animals.  In  fact,  we  need  only  sub- 
stitute the  word  '  period'  for  '  day'  in  the  Mosaic  nar- 
rative to  make  it  very  apparent  that  the  writer  at  least 
had  no  such  meaning,  nor  could  he  have  conveyed 
any  such  meaning  to  those  who  first  heard  his  account 
read. 

'  It  has  been  held,'  says  Hugh  Miller^  '  by  accom- 
plished philologists,  that  the  days  of  Mosaic  creation 
may  be  regarded  without  doing  violence  to  the  Hebrew 
language,  as  successive  periods  of  great  extent.'^  We 
do  not  believe  that  there  is  any  ground  for  this  doc- 
trine. The  word '  day'  is  certainl}^  used  occasionally  in 
particular  phrases,  in  an  indefinite  manner,  not  only 
in  Hebrew,  but  other  languages.  As  for  instance. 
Gen.   xxxix.    u — 'About  this  time,'   Heb.    literally, 


*  Testimony,  p.  133. 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  )ii\ 

'  about  tills  day,'  But  every  such  phrase  exphiins 
itself,  and  not  only  philology  hut  common  sense  dis- 
claims the  notion,  that  when  '  day' is  spoken  of  in  terms 
like  those  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  described 
as  consisting  of  an  evening  and  a  morning,  it  can 
be  understood  to  mean  a  seculum. 

Archdeacon  Pratt,  treating  on  the  same  subject, 
says  (p.  41,  note),  '  Were  there  no  other  ground  of 
objection  to  this  mode  of  interpretation,  I  think  the 
wording  of  the  fourth  commandment  is  clearly  opposed 
to  it.  Ex.  XX.  8.  '  Eemember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy.  9.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour  ancl  do 
all  thy  work  10.  But  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath 
of  the  Lord  thy  God.  In  it,  thou  shalt  not  do  any 
work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man- 
servant, nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates.  11.  For  in  six 
clays  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea  and 
all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh  day; 
wherefore  the  Lord  Ijlessed  the  Sabbath  day  and 
hallowed  it.' 

'  Is  it  not  a  harsh  and  forced  interpretation  to  sup- 
pose that  the  six  days  in  v.  9  do  not  mean  the  same 
as  the  six  days  in  v.  11,  but  that  in  this  last  place  they 
mean  six  periods  ?  In  reading  through  the  eleventh 
verse,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  believe  that  the  seventh 
day  is  a  long  period,  and  the  sabbath  day  an  ordinary 
day,  that  is,  that  the  same  word  day  should  be  used  in 
two  such  totally  different  senses  in  the  same  short 
sentence  and  without  any  explanation.' 

Hugh  Miller  saw  the  difficulty ;  but  he  endeavours 
to  escape  the  consequences  of  a  rigorous  application 
of  the  periodic  theory  by  modifying  it  in  a  peculiar, 
and  certainly  ingenious  manner.  '  AVaiving,'  he  says, 
'  the  question  as  a  philological  one,  and  simply  holding 
with  Cuvier,  Parkinson,  and  Silliman,  that  each  of 
the  six  days  of  the  Mosaic  account  in  the  first  chapter 

B, 


242  Mosaic   Cosmogony. 

were  wliat  is  assuredly  meant  by  the  dajl  referred  to 
in  the  second,  not  natural  days  but  lengthened  periods, 
I  find  myself  called  on,  as  a  geologist,  to  account 
for  but  three  out  of  the  six.  Of  the  period  during 
which  light  was  created,  of  the  period  during  which  a 
firmament  was  made  to  separate  the  waters  from  the 
waters,  or  of  the  period  during  which  the  two  great 
lights  of  the  earth,  with  the  other  heavenly  bodies, 
became  visible  from  the  earth's  surface — we  need 
expect  to  find  no  record  in  the  rocks.  Let  me,  how- 
ever, pause  for  a  moment,  to  remark  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  language  in  which  we  are  first  intro- 
duced  in  the  Mosaic  narrative  to  the  heavenly  bodies 
— sun,  moon,  and  stars.  The  moon,  though  absolutely 
one  of  the  smallest  lights  of  our  system,  is  described  as 
secondary  and  subordinate  to  only  its  greatest  light, 
the  sun.  It  is  the  apparent,  then,  not  the  actual,  which 
we  find  in  the  passage — what  seemed  to  be,  not 
what  loas ;  and  as  it  was  merely  what  appeared  to 
be  greatest  that  was  described  as  greatest,  on  wdiat 
grounds  are  we  to  hold  that  it  ma^^  not  also  have  been 
what  cqypeared  at  the  time  to  be  made  that  has  been 
described  as  made  ?  The  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  may 
have  been  created  long  before,  though  it  was  not  until 
this  fourth  day  of  creation  that  they  became  visible 
from  the  earth's  surface.''^ 

The  tlieory  founded  upon  this  hint  is  that  the 
Hebrew  writer  did  not  state  facts,  but  merely  certain 
appearances,  and  those  not  of  things  which  really  hap- 


'  The  expression,  Gen.  ii.  4,  '  In  the  day  that  the  Lord  God  created 
the  earth  and  heaven,'  to  which  Hugli  Miller  here  refei's,  may  possibly 
mean  '  at  the  time  when,'  meaning  a  week,  year,  or  other  limited  time.  But 
there  is  not  the  smallest  reason  for  understanding  it  to  mean  '  a,len(jthe>icd 
period,'  i.e.,  an  immense  lapse  of  time.  Such  a  construction  would  be  in- 
admissible in  the  Hebrew,  or  any  other  language.  It  is  difficult  to  acquit 
Hugh  Miller  of  an  equivocation  here.  In  real  truth,  the  second  narrative 
is,  as  we  have  before  observed,  of  distinct  origin  from  the  first,  and  we 
incline  to  the  belief  that,  in  this  case  also,  '  day'  is  to  be  taken  in  its  pi'oper 
signification. 

*  Testimony,  p.  134. 


Mosaic  Cosmofjoiiy.  243 

pened,    as  assumed    in    tlie  explanation   adopted   by 
Archdeacon  Pratt,  but  of  certain  occurrences  wliicli 
were    presented  to    him   in   a  vision,   and   that   this 
vision  greatly   deceived  him  as  to  what  he    seemed 
to  see ;    and  thus,  in  effect,  the   real  discrepancy  of 
tlie   narrative   with   facts    is    admitted.      He   had  in 
all,  seven  visions,  to  each  of  which  he  attributed  the 
duration    of    a   day,    although    indeed    each    picture 
presented  to  him  the  earth  during  seven  long  and  dis- 
tinctly marked  epochs.     While  on  the  one  hand  tliis 
supposition  admits  all  desirable  latitude  for  mistakes 
and  misrepresentations,   Hugh  Miller,   on  the  other 
hand,  endeavours  to  show  that  a  substantial  ag-reement 
with  the  truth  exists,  and  to  give  sufficient  reason 
for  the  mistakes.     We  must  let  him  speak  for  him- 
self.      '  The    geologist,    in    his    attempts    to    collate 
the  Divine  with  the  geologic  record,  has,  I  repeat, 
onl}^  tlu'ee  of  the  six  periods   of  creation  to  account 
for^ — the  period  of  plants,  the  period  of  great  sea- 
monsters  and  creeping  things,  and  the  period  of  cattle 
and  beasts  of  the  earth.     He  is  called  on  to  question 
his  systems  and  formations  regarding  the  remains  of 
these  three  great  periods,  and  of  them  only.     And  the 
question  once  fairly  stated,  what,  I  ask,  is  the  reply  ? 
All  geologists  agree  in  holding  that  the  vast  geological 
scale  naturally  divides  into  three  great  parts.     There 
are    many    lesser    divisions — divisions    into    systems, 
formations,    deposits,   beds,    strata ;    but   the   master 
divisions,  in  each  of  which  we  find  a  type  of  life  so 
unlike  that  of  the  others,  that   even   the  unpractised 
eye  can  detect  the   difference,  are  simply  three  :    the 
palaeozoic,  or  oldest  fossiliferous  division;  the  secondary. 


*  A  very  inadmissible  assertion.  Any  one,  be  he  geologist,  astronomer, 
theolog-ian,  or  philologist,  who  attempts  to  explain  the  Hebrew  narrative, 
is  bound  to  take  it  with  all  that  really  belongs  to  it.  And  in  truth,  if  the 
fourth  day  really  represented  an  epoch  of  creative  activity,  geology  would 
be  able  to  give  some  account  of  it.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  auy 
intermission  has  taken  place. 

R    2 


244  Mosaic  Cosmorjovy. 

or  middle  fossiliferous  division ;  and  the  tertiary,  or 
latest  fossiliferous  division.  In  the  first,  or  palseozoic 
division,  we  find  corals,  crustaceans,  molluscs,  fishes ; 
and  in  its  later  formations,  a  few  reptiles.  But  none  of 
these  classes  give  its  leading  character  to  the  pala30zoic  ; 
they  do  not  constitute  its  prominent  feature,  or  render 
it  more  remarkable  as  a  scene  of  life  than  any  of  the 
divisions  which  followed.  That  which  chiefly  dis- 
tinguished the  pala?ozoic  from  the  secondary  and 
tertiary  periods  was  its  gorgeous  flora.  It  was  em- 
phatically the  period  of  plants — '  of  herbs  yielding 
seed  after  their  kind.'  In  no  other  ao-e  did  the  world 
ever  witness  such  a  flora ;  the  youth  of  the  earth  was 
peculiarly  a  green  and  umbrageous  j^outh — a  youth  of 
dusk  and  tangled  forests,  of  huge  pines  and  stately 
araucarians,  of  the  reed-like  calamite,  the  tall  tree-fern, 
the  sculptured  sigillaria,and  the  hirsute  lepidodendrons. 
Wherever  dry  land,  or  shallow  lakes,  or  running  stream 
appeared,  from  where  Melville  Island  now  spreads  out 
its  icy  coast  under  the  star  of  the  pole,  to  where  the 
arid  plains  of  Australia  lie  solitary  beneath  the  bright 
cross  of  the  south,  a  rank  and  luxuriant  herbage  cum- 
bered every  foot-breadth  of  the  dank  and  steaming  soil; 
and  even  to  distant  planets  our  earth  must  have  shone 
through  the  enveloping  cloud  with  a  green  and  deli- 
cate ra}^  .  .  .  The  geologic  evidence  is  so  com- 
plete as  to  be  patent  to  all,  that  the  first  great  period 
of  organized  being  was,  as  described  in  the  Mosaic 
record,  peculiarly  a  period  of  herbs  and  trees  'yielding 
seed  after  their  kind.' 

'  The  middle  great  period  of  the  geologist — that  of 
the  secondary  division — possessed,  like  the  earlier  one, 
its  herbs  and  plants,  but  they  were  of  a*greatly  less 
luxuriant  and  conspicuous  character  than  their  pre- 
decessors, and  no  longer  formed  the  prominent  trait 
or  feature  of  the  creation  to  which  they  belonged. 
The  period  had  also  its  corals,  its  crustaceans,  its 
molluscs,  its  fishes,  and  in  some  one  or  two  excep- 


Mosaic  Cusmogony.  245 

tional  instances,  its  dwarf  mammals.  But  the  grand 
existences  of  the  age — the  existences  in  which  it  ex- 
celled every  other  creation,  earlier  or  later — were  its 
huge  creeping  things — its  enormous  monsters  of  the 
deep,  and,  as  shown  by  the  impressions  of  their  foot- 
prints stamped  upon  the  rocks,  its  gigantic  birds.  It 
was  peculiarly  the  age  of  egg-bearing  animals,  winged 
and  wingless.  Its  wonderful  lohales,  not  however,  as 
now,  of  the  mammalian,  but  of  the  reptilian  class, — 
ichthyosaurs,  plesiosaurs,  and  cetosaurs,  must  have 
tempested  the  deep ;  its  creeping  lizards  and  croco- 
diles, such  as  the  teliosaurus,  megalosaurus,  and  igua- 
nodon — creatures,  some  of  which  more  than  rivalled 
the  existing  elephant  in  height,  and  greatly  more  than 
rivalled  him  in  bulk — must  have  crowded  the  plains, 
or  haunted  by  myriads  the  rivers  of  the  period  ;  and 
we  know  that  the  foot-prints  of  at  least  one  of  its 
many  birds  are  of  fully  twice  the  size  of  those  made 
by  the  horse  or  camel.  We  are  thus  prepared  to  de- 
monstrate, that  the  second  period  of  the  geologist  was 
peculiarly  and  characteristically  a  period  of  whale-like 
reptiles  of  the  sea,  of  enormous  creeping  reptiles  of 
the  land,  and  of  numerous  birds,  some  of  them  of 
gigantic  size;  and  in  meet  accordance  with  the  fact, 
we  find  that  the  second  Mosaic  period  with  which  the 
geologist  is  called  on  to  deal,  was  a  period  in  which 
God  created  the  fowl  that  flieth  above  the  earth,  with 
moving  (or  creeping)  creatures,  both  in  the  waters  and 
on  land,  and  what  our  translation  renders  great  whales, 
but  that  I  find  rendered  in  the  margin  great  sea- 
monsters.  The  tertiary  period  had  also  its  prominent 
class  of  existences.  Its  flora  seems  to  have  been  no 
more  conspicuous  than  that  of  the  present  time ;  its 
reptiles  occupy  a  very  subordinate  place ;  but  its 
beasts  of  the  field  were  by  far  the  most  wonderfully 
developed,  both  in  size  and  numbers,  that  ever  ap- 
peared on  earth.  Its  mammoths  and  its  n.astodons, 
its  rhinoceri  and  its  hippopotami,  its  enormous  dino- 


246  Mosaic   Cosmocjony. 

therium,  and  colossal  megatherium,  greatly  more  than 
equalled  m  bulk  the  hugest  mammals  of  the  present 
time,  and  vastly  exceeded  them  in  number.  *  *  * 
'  Grand,  indeed,'  says  an  English  naturalist,  '  was  the 
fauna  of  the  British  Islands  in  these  early  days. 
Tigers  as  large  again  as  the  biggest  Asiatic  species 
lurked  in  the  ancient  thickets  ;  elephants  of  nearly 
twice  the  bulk  of  the  largest  individuals  that  now 
exist  in  Africa  or  Ceylon  roamed  in  herds ;  at  least 
two  species  of  rhinoceros  forced  their  way  through 
the  primaeval  forest ;  and  the  lakes  and  rivers  were 
tenanted  by  hippopotami  as  bulky  and  with  as  great 
tusks  as  those  of  Africa.'  The  massive  cave-bear  and 
large  cave-hya?na  belonged  to  the  same  formidable 
group,  with  at  least  two  species  of  great  oxen  {^Bos 
longifroiis  and  Bos  primi(/e)ims),  with  a  horse  of  smaller 
size,  and  an  elk  ^Megaceros  Hibernicus)  that  stood  ten 
feet  four  inches  in  height.  Truly,  this  Tertiary  age 
— this  third  and  last  of  the  great  geologic  periods — 
was  peculiarly  the  age  of  great  '  beasts  of  the  earth 
after  their  kind,  and  cattle  after  their  kind.' ' 

Thus  by  dropping  the  invertebrata,  and  the  early 
fishes  and  reptiles  of  the  Palseozoic  period  as  incon- 
spicuous and  of  little  account,  and  bringing  promi- 
nently forward  the  carboniferous  era  which  succeeded 
them  as  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  the  first 
great  division,  by  classing  the  great  land  reptiles  of 
the  secondary  period  with  the  moving  creatures  of  the 
waters,  (for  in  the  Mosaic  account  it  does  not  appear 
that  any  inhabitants  of  the  land  were  created  on  the 
fifth  day),  and  evading  the  fact  that  terrestrial  reptiles 
seem  to  have  preceded  birds  in  their  order  of  appear- 
ance upon  earth,  the  geologic  divisions  are  tolerably 
well  assimilated  to  the  third,  fifth,  and  sixth  Mosaic 
days.  These  things  were  represented,  we  are  told,  to 
Moses  in  visionary  pictures,  and  resulted  in  the  short 
and  summary  account  which  he  has  given. 

There  is  something  in  this  hypothesis  very  near  to 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  247 

tlie  obvious  truth,  wliile  at  the  same  time  something 
very  remote  from  that  truth  is  meant  to  be  inferred. 
If  it  be  said  the  Mosaic  account  is  simply  the  specu- 
lation of  some  early  Copernicus  or  Newton  who 
devised  a  scheme  of  the  earth's  formation,  as  nearly 
as  he  might  in  accordance  with  his  own  observations 
of  nature,  and  with  such  views  of  things  as  it  was 
possible  for  an  unassisted  thinker  in  those  days  to 
take,  we  may  admire  the  approximate  correctness  of 
the  picture  drawn,  while  we  see  that  the  writer,  as 
might  be  expected,  took  everything  from  a  different 
point  of  view  from  ourselves,  and  consequently  repre- 
sented much  quite  differently  from  the  fact.  But 
nothing  of  this  sort  is  really  intended.  We  are 
asked  to  believe  that  a  vision  of  creation  was  pre-  't' 
sented  to  him  by  Divine  power,  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling  him  to  inform  the  world  of  what  he  had 
seen,  which  vision  inevitably  led  him  to  give  a  de- 
scription which  has  misled  the  world  for  centuries, 
and  in  which  the  truth  can  now  only  with  difficulty 
be  recognised.  The  Hebrew  writer  informs  us  that 
on  the  third  day  '  the  earth  brought  forth  grass,  the 
herb  yielding  seed  after  his  kind,  and  the  tree  yielding 
fruit,  whose  seed  was  in  itself,  after  his  kind ;'  and  in 
the  29th  verse,  that  God  on  the  sixth  day  said,  '  Be- 
hold, I  have  given  you  every  herb  bearing  seed,  which 
is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and  every  tree  in  the 
which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed,  to  you  it 
shall  be  for  meat.  And  to  every  beast  of  the  earth, 
and  to  every  fowl  of  the  air,  and  to  everything  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth,  wherein  there  is  life,  I  have 
given  every  green  herb  for  meat.'  Can  it  be  disputed 
that  the  writer  here  conceives  that  grass,  corn,  and 
fruit,  were  created  on  the  third  day,  and  with  a  view 
to  the  future  nourishment  of  man  and  beast?  Yet, 
according  to  the  vision  hypothesis,  he  must  have  been 
greatly  deceived ;  for  that  luxuriant  vegetation  which 
he  saw  on  the  third  day,  consisted  not  of  plants  des- 


248  Mosaic  Cosmo(/on?/. 

tilled  for  the  food  of  man,  but  for  his  fueh  It  was  the 
flora  of  the  carboniferous  period  which  he  behekl,  con- 
cerning which  Hugh  Miller  makes  the  following  re- 
mark, p.  24 : — '  The  existing  plants  whence  we  derive 
our  analogies  in  dealing  with  the  vegetation  of  this 
early  period,  contribute  but  little,  if  at  all,  to  the  sup- 
port of  animal  life.  The  ferns  and  their  allies  remain 
untouched  by  the  grazing  animals.  Our  native  club- 
mosses,  though  once  used  in  medicine,  are  positively 
deleterious  ;  the  horsetails,  though  harmless,  so  abound 
in  silex,  which  wraps  them  round  with  a  cuticle  of 
stone,  that  they  are  rarely  cropped  by  cattle ;  while 
the  thickets  of  fern  which  cover  our  hill-sides,  and 
seem  so  temptingly  rich  and  green  in  their  season, 
scarce  support  the  existence  of  a  single  creature,  and 
remain  untouched  in  stem  and  leaf  from  their  first 
appearance  in  spring,  until  they  droop  and  wither 
under  the  frosts  of  early  winter.  Even  the  insects 
that  infest  the  herbaria  of  the  botanist  almost  never 
injure  his  ferns.  Nor  are  our  resin-producing  conifers, 
though  they  nourish  a  few  beetles,  favourites  with  the 
herbivorous  tribes  in  a  much  greater  degree.  Judging 
from  all  we  yet  know,  the  earliest  terrestrial  flora  may 
have  covered  the  dry  land  with  its  mantle  of  cheerful 
green,  and  served  its  general  purposes,  chemical  and 
others,  in  the  well-balanced  economy  of  nature  ;  but 
the  herb-eating  animals  would  have  fared  but  ill,  even 
where  it  throve  most  luxuriantly ;  and  it  seems  to 
harmonize  with  the  fact  of  its  unedible  character  that 
up  to  the  present  time  we  know  not  that  a  single 
herbivorous  animal  lived  amongst  its  shades.'  The 
Mosaic  writer  is,  however,  according  to  the  theory, 
misled  by  the  mere  appearance  of  luxuriant  vegetation, 
to  describe  fruit  trees  and  edible  seed-bearing  vege- 
tables as  products  of  the  third  day. 

Hugh  Miller's  treatment  of  the  description  of  the 
first  dawn  of  light  is  not  more  satisfactory  than  that 
of  Dr.  Buckland.     He    supposes  the  prophet  in  his 


JSlosaic  Cosmogony.  249 

dream  to  liave  heard  the  command  '  Let  there  be  lig-lit' 
enunciated,  whereupon  '  straightway  a  gre}^  diffused 
light  springs  up  in  the  east,  and  casting  its  sicJdij  gleam 
over  a  cloud-Hmited  expanse  of  steaming  vaporous 
sea,  journeys  through  the  heavens  towards  the  west. 
One  heavy,  sunless  day  is  made  the  representative  of 
myriads  ;  the  faint  light  waxes  fainter, — it  sinks  be- 
neath the  dim,  undefined  horizon.' 

We  are  then  asked  to  imagine  that  a  second  and  a 
third  day,  each  representing  the  characteristic  features 
of  a  great  distinctly-marked  epoch,  and  the  latter  of 
them  marked  by  the  appearance  of  a  rich  and  luxuriant 
vegetation,  are  presented  to  the  seer's  eye ;  but  with- 
out sun,  moon,  or  stars  as  yet  entering  into  his  dream. 
Tliese  appear  first  in  his  fourth  vision,  and  then  for  the 
first  time  we  have  '  a  brilliant  day,'  and  the  seer, 
struck  with  the  novelty,  describes  the  heavenly  bodies 
as  being  the  most  conspicuous  objects  in  the  ]3icture. 
In  reality  we  know  that  he  represents  them  (v.  i6)  as 
having  been  made  and  set  in  the  heavens  on  that  day, 
though  Hugh  Miller  avoids  reminding  us  of  this. 

In  one  respect  the  theory  of  Hugh  Miller  agrees  with 
that  advocated  by  Dr.  Buck] and  and  Archdeacon  Pratt. 
Both  these  theories  divest  the  Mosaic  narrative  of  real 
accordance  with  fact ;  both  assume  that  appearances 
only,  not  facts,  are  described,  and  that  in  riddles,  which 
would  never  have  been  suspected  to  be  such,  had  we 
not  arrived  at  the  ti'uth  from  other  sources.  It  would 
be  difficult  for  controversialists  to  cede  more  completely 
the  point  in  dispute,  or  to  admit  more  explicitly  that 
the  Mosaic  narrative  does  not  represent  correctly 
the  history  of  the  universe  up  to  the  time  of  man. 
At  the  same  time,  the  upholders  of  each  theory  see 
insuperable  objections  in  details  to  that  of  their  allies, 
and  do  not  pretend  to  any  firm  faith  in  their  own. 
How  can  it  be  otherwise  when  the  task  proposed  is  to 
evade  the  plain  meaning  of  language,  and  to  introduce 
obscurity  into  one  of  the  simplest  stories  ever  told. 


o-^ 


50  Mosaic   Cosmogony. 

for  the  sake  of  making  it  accord  with  tlie  complex 
system  of  the  universe  which  modern  science  has  un- 
folded? The  spectacle  of  ahle  and,  we  doubt  not, 
conscientious  writers  engaged  in  attempting  the  im- 
possible is  painful  and  humiliating.  They  evidently 
do  not  breathe  freely  over  their  work,  but  shuffle  and 
stumble  over  their  difficulties  in  a  piteous  manner; 
nor  are  they  themselves  again  until  they  return  to  the 
pure  and  open  fields  of  science. 

It  is  refreshing  to  return  to  the  often-echoed  remark, 
that  it  could  not  have  been  the  object  of  a  Divine 
revelation  to  instruct  mankind  in  physical  science, 
man  having  had  faculties  bestowed  upon  him  to  enable 
him  to  acquire  this  knowledge  by  himself.  This  is  in 
fact  pretty  generally  admitted ;  but  in  the  application  of 
the  doctrine,  writers  play  at  fast  and  loose  with  it  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  Thus  an  inspired  writer 
may  be  permitted  to  allude  to  the  phenomena  of  nature 
accordino"  to  the  vulsrar  view  of  such  thino-s,  w^ithout 
impeachment  of  his  better  knowledge  ;  but  if  he  speaks 
of  the  same  phenomena  assertively,  we  are  bound  to 
suppose  that  things  are  as  he  represents  them,  how- 
ever much  our  knowledge  of  nature  may  be  disposed  to 
recalcitrate.  But  if  vve  find  a  difficult}^  in  admitting  that 
such  misrepresentations  can  find  a  place  in  revelation, 
the  difficulty  lies  in  our  having  previously  assumed 
what  a  Divine  revelation  ought  to  be  If  God  made  use 
of  imperfectly  informed  men  to  lay  the  foundations  ot 
that  higher  knowledge  for  which  the  human  race  was 
destined,  is  it  wonderful  that  they  should  have  com- 
mitted themselves  to  assertions  not  in  accordance  with 
facts,  although  they  ma}^  have  believed  them  to  be 
true  ?  On  what  grounds  has  the  popular  notion  of 
Divine  revelation  been  built  up  ?  Is  it  not  plain  that 
the  plan  of  Providence  for  the  education  of  man  is  a 
progressive  one,  and  as  imperfect  men  have  been  used 
as  the  agents  for  teaching  mankind,  is  it  not  to  be 
expected  that  their  teachings  should  be  partial  and,  to 


Mosaic  Cosmogonij.  251 

some  extent,  erroneous  ?  Admitted,  as  it  is,  that 
physical  science  is  not  what  the  Hebrew  writers,  for 
the  most  part,  profess  to  convey,  at  any  rate,  that  it 
is  not  on  account  of  the  communication  of  such  know- 
ledge that  we  attach  any  value  to  their  writings,  why 
should  we  hesitate  to  recognise  their  fallibility  on  this 
head  ? 

Admitting,  as  is  historically  and  in  fact  the  case, 
that  it  was  the  mission  of  the  Hebrew  race  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  religion  upon  the  earth,  and  that  Pro- 
vidence used  this  people  specially  for  this  purpose,  is  it 
not  our  business  and  our  duty  to  look  and  see  how 
this  has  really  been  done  ?  not  forming  for  ourselves 
theories  of  what  a  revelation  ought  to  be,  or  how  we, 
if  entrusted  with  the  task,  would  have  made  one,  but 
inquiring  how  it  has  pleased  Grod  to  do  it.  In  all  his 
theories  of  the  world,  man  has  at  first  deviated  widely 
from  the  truth,  and  has  only  gradually  come  to  see 
how  far  otherwise  God  has  ordered  things  than  the 
first  daring  speculator  had  supposed.  It  has  been 
popularly  assumed  that  the  Bible,  bearing  the  st^iiup 
of  Divine  authority,  must  be  complete,  perfect,  and 
unimpeachable  in  all  its  parts,  and  a  thousand  diffi- 
culties and  incoherent  doctrines  have  sprung  out  of 
this  theory.  Men  have  proceeded  in  the  matter  of 
theology,  as  they  did  with  physical  science  before  in- 
ductive philosophy  sent  them  to  the  feet  of  nature, 
and  bid  them  learn  in  patience  and  obedience  the 
lessons  which  she  had  to  teach.  Dogma  and  groundless 
assumption  occupy  the  place  of  modest  inquiry  after 
truth,  while  at  the  same  time  the  upholders  of  these 
theories  claim  credit  for  humility  and  submissiveness. 
This  is  exactly  inverting  the  fact ;  the  humble  scholar 
of  truth  is  not  he  who,  taking  his  stand  upon  the 
traditions  of  rabbins,  Christian  fathers,  or  school- 
men, insists  upon  bending  facts  to  his  unyielding 
standard,  but  he  who  is  willing  to  accept  such  teaching 
as  it  has  pleased  Divine  Providence  to  afford,  without 


253  Mosaic  Cosmogony. 

murmuring  tliat  it  lias  not  been  furnished  more 
copiously  or  clearly. 

The  Hebrew  race,  their  works,  and  their  books,  are 
great  facts  in  the  history  of  man ;  the  influence  of 
the  mind  of  this  people  upon  the  rest  of  mankind  has 
been  immense  and  peculiar,  and  there  can  be  no  diffi- 
culty in  recognising  therein  the  hand  of  a  directing 
Providence.  But  we  may  not  make  ourselves  wiser 
than  God,  nor  attribute  to  Him  methods  of  procedure 
which  are  not  His.  If,  then,  it  is  plain  that  He  has 
not  thought  it  needful  to  communicate  to  the  writer 
of  the  Cosmogony  that  knowledge  which  modern  re- 
searches have  revealed,  why  do  we  not  acknowledge 
this,  except  that  it  conflicts  with  a  human  theory 
which  presumes  to  point  out  how  God  ought  to  have 
instructed  man  ?  The  treatment  to  which  the  Mosaic 
narrative  is  subjected  by  the  theological  geologists  is 
anything  but  respectful.  The  writers  of  this  school, 
as  we  have  seen,  agree  in  representing  it  as  a  series  of 
elaborate  equivocations — a  story  which  '  palters  with 
us  in  a  double  sense.'  But  if  we  regard  it  as  the 
speculation  of  some  Hebrew  Descartes  or  Newton, 
promulgated  in  all  good  faith  as  the  best  and  most 
probable  account  that  could  be  then  given  of  God's 
universe,  it  resumes  the  dignity  and  value  of  which 
the  writers  in  question  have  done  their  utmost  to  de- 
prive it.  It  has  been  sometimes  felt  as  a  difficulty  to 
taking  this  view  of  the  case,  that  the  writer  asserts  so 
solemnly  and  unhesitatingly  that  for  which  he  must 
have  known  that  he  had  no  authority.  But  this  arises 
only  from  our  modern  habits  of  thought,  and  from 
the  modesty  of  assertion  which  the  spirit  of  true  science 
has  taught  us.  Mankind  has  learnt  caution  through 
repeated  slips  in  the  process  of  tracing  out  the  truth. 

The  early  speculator  was  harassed  by  no  such 
scruples,  and  asserted  as  facts  what  he  knew  in  reality 
only  as  probabilities.  But  we  are  not  on  that  account 
to  doubt  his  perfect  good  faith,  nor  need  we  attribute 


Mosaic  Cosmogony.  253 

to  him  wilful  misrepresentation,  or  consciousness  of 
assertinof  that  which  he  knew  not  to  be  true.   He  had 
seized  one  great  truth,  in  which,  indeed,  he  anticipated 
the  highest  revelation  of  modern   inquiry — namely, 
the  unity  of  the  design  of  the   world,  and  its  subordi- 
nation to  one  sole  Maker  and  Lawgiver.     With  regard 
to  details,  observation  failed  him.     He  knew  little  of 
the  earth's  surface,  or  of   its   shape   and  place  in  the 
universe  ;  the  infinite  varieties  of  organized  existences 
which  people  it,  the  distinct  floras  and  faunas  of  its 
different  continents,  were  unknown  to  him.     But  he 
saw  that  all  which  lay  within  his  observation  had  been 
formed  for  the  benefit  and   service  of  man,  and  the 
goodness    of  the   Creator    to    his  creatures  was  the 
thought  predominant  in  his  mind.     Man's  closer  rela- 
tion to  his  Maker  is  indicated  by  the  representation 
that  he  was  formed  last  of  all  creatures,  and  in  the 
visible  likeness  of  God.     For  ages,  this  simple  view 
of  creation  satisfied  the  wants  of  man,  and  formed  a 
sufficient  basis  of  theological  teaching,  and  if  modern 
research  now  shows  it  to  be  physically  untenable,  our 
respect  for  the  narrative  which  has  played  so  important 
a  part  in  the  (julture  of  our  race  need  be  in  nowise 
diminished.     No  one  contends  that  it  can  be  used  as 
a  basis  of  astronomical  or  geological  teaching,   and 
those  who  profess  to  see  in  it  an  accordance  with  facts, 
only  do  this  suh  moclo,  and  by  processes  which  despoil 
it  of  its  consistency  and  grandeur,  both  which   may 
be  preserved  if  we  recognise  in  it,  not  an  authentic 
utterance  of  Divine  knowledge,  but  a  human  utterance, 
which  it  has  pleased  Providence  to  use  in  a  special 
way  for  the  education  of  mankind. 


TENDENCIES    OF   RELIGIOUS    THOUGHT 
IN  ENGLAND,  1688-1750. 


THE  tliirty  years  of  peace  wliicli  succeeded  the 
Peace  of  Utrecht  (1714),  'was  the  most  prosperous 
season  that  England  had  ever  experienced  ;  and  the 
progression,  though  slow,  being  uniform,  the  reign  of 
George  II.  might  not  disadvantageouslj  be  compared 
for  the  real  happiness  of  the  community  with  that 
more  brilliant,  but  uncertain  and  oscillatory  condition 
which  has  ensued.  A  labourer's  wages  have  never  for 
many  ages  commanded  so  large  a  portion  of  sub- 
sistence as  in  this  part  of  the  18th  century.'  (Hallam, 
Const.  Hist.  ii.  464.) 

This  is  the  aspect  which  that  period  of  history 
wears  to  the  political  philosopher.  The  historian  of 
/  moral  and  religious  progress,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
/  under  the  necessity  of  depicting  the  same  period  as 
one  of  decay  of  religion,  licentiousness  of  morals,  pub- 
lic corruption,  profaneness  of  language — a  day  of 
'  rebuke  and  blasphemy.'  Even  those  who  look  with 
suspicion  on  the  contemporary  complaints  from  the 
Jacobite  clergy  of  '  decay  of  religion  '  will  not  hesitate 
to  say  that  it  was  an  age  destitute  of  depth  or  earnest- 
ness ;  an  age  whose  poetry  was  without  romance, 
whose  philosophy  was  without  insight,  and  whose 
public  men  were  without  character ;  an  age  of  '  liglit 
without  love,'  whose  '  verj^  merits  were  of  the  earth, 
earthy.'  In  this  estimate  the  followers  of  Mill  and 
Carlyle  will  agree  with  those  of  Dr.  Newman. 


Tendencies  of  Religious  Thought  in  England.     255 

The  Stoical  moralists  of  the  second  century  who 
witnessed  a  similar  coincidence  of  moral  degradation 
and  material  welfare,  had  no  difficulty  in  connecting 
tliem  too-ether  as  effect  with  cause.  '  Bona  rerum 
secundarum  optabilia,  adversarum  mirabilia.'  (Seneca, 
ad  Lucil.  66.)  But  the  famous  theory  which  satisfied 
the  political  philosophers  of  antiquity,  viz.,  that  the 
degeneracy  of  nations  is  due  to  the  inroads  of  luxury, 
is  laughed  to  scorn  by  modern  economists.  It  is  at 
any  rate  a  theory  which  can  hardly  be  adopted  by 
those  who  pour  unmeasured  contempt  on  the  i8th,  by 
way  of  contrast  with  the  revival  of  higher  principles 
by  the  19th  century.  It  is  especially  since  the  High 
Church  movement  commenced  that  the  theology  of 
the  1 8th  century  has  become  a  byeword.  The  genuine 
Anglican  omits  that  period  from  the  history  of  the  ^ 
Church  altoGrether.  In  constructinir  his  Catena  Patriim 
lie  closes  his  list  with  Waterland  or  Brett,  and  leaps 
at  once  to  1833,  when  the  Tracts  for  the  Times  com- 
menced— as  Charles  II.  dated  his  reign  from  his 
father's  death.  Such  a  legal  fiction  may  be  harmless 
or  useful  for  purjDoses  of  mere  form,  but  the  facts  of 
history  cannot  be  disposed  of  by  forgetting  them. 
Both  the  Church  and  the  world  of  to-day  are  what 
they  are  as  the  result  of  the  whole  of  their  antecedents. 
The  history  of  a  party  may  be  written  on  the  theory 
of  periodical  occultation ;  but  he  who  wishes  to  trace  the 
descent  of  religious  thought,  and  the  practical  working 
oftlie  relii^ious  ideas,  must  follow  these  throu"-hall  the 
phases  they  have  actually  assumed.  We  have  not  yet 
learnt,  in  this  country,  to  write  our  ecclesiastical  history 
on  any  better  footing  than  that  of  praising  up  the  party, 
in  or  out  of  the  Church,  to  which  we  happen  to  belong. 
Still  further  are  we  from  any  attempt  to  apply  the 
laws  of  thought,  and  of  the  succession  of  opinion,  to 
the  course  of  English  theology.  The  recognition  of 
the  fact,  that  the  view  of  the  eternal  verities  of  religion 
which  prevails  in  any  given  age  is  in  part  determined 


256     Tendencies  of  Heligious  ThoiigM  in  Unyland. 

by  tlie  view  taken  in  tlie  age  Avliicli  preceded  it,  is 
incompatible  with  the  hypothesis  generally  prevalent 
among  us  as  to  the  mode  in  which  we  form  our  notions 
of  religious  truth.  Upon  none  of  the  prevailing 
theories  as  to  this  mode  is  a  deductive  history  of 
theology  possible,  i.  The  Catholic  theory,  which  is 
really  that  of  Uoman-Catholics,  and  professedly  that 
of  Anglo-Catholics,  withdraws  Christianity  alto- 
gether from  human  experience  and  the  operation  of 
the  ordinary  laws  of  thought.  2.  The  Protestant 
theory  of  free  inquiry,  which  supposes  that  each  mind 
takes  a  survey  of  the  evidence,  and  strikes  the  balance 
of  probability  according  to  the  best  of  its  judgment — 
this  theory  defers  indeed  to  the  abstract  laws  of  logic, 
but  overlooks  the  influences  of  education.  If,  without 
hypothesis,  we  are  content  to  observe  facts,  we  shall 
find  that  we  cannot  decline  to  study  the  opinions  of 
any  age  only  because  they  are  not  our  own  opinions. 
There  is  a  law  of  continuity  in  the  progress  of  theology 
which,  whatever  we  may  wish,  is  never  broken  off. 
In  tracing  the  filiation  of  consecutive  systems,  we 
cannot  aftbrd  to  overlook  any  link  in  the  chain,  any 
age,  except  one  in  which  religious  opinion  did  not 
exist.  Certainly  we,  in  this  our  time,  if  we  would 
understand  our  own  position  in  the  Church,  and  that 
of  the  Church  in  the  age,  if  we  would  hold  any  clue 
through  the  maze  of  religious  pretension  which  sur- 
rounds us,  cannot  neglect  those  immediate  agencies  in 
the  production  of  the  present,  which  had  their  origin 
towards  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century. 

Of  these  agencies  there  are  three,  the  present  in- 
fluence of  which  cannot  escape  the  most  inattentive. 
I.  The  formation  and  gradual  growth  of  that  compro- 
A  mise  between  Church  and  State,  which  is  called  Tolera- 
tion, and  which,  believed  by  man}''  to  be  a  principle,  is 
a  mere  arrangement  between  two  principles.  But  such 
as  it  is,  it  is  part  of  our  heritage  from  the  last  age, 
and  is  the  foundation,  if  foundation  it  can  be  called, 


i688— 1750.  257 

upon  which  we  still  continue  to  build,  as  in  the 
late  act  for  the  admission  of  Jews  to  Parliament. 
2.  The  great  rekindling  of  the  religious  consciousness 
of  the  people  which,  without  the  Established  Church, 
became  Methodism,  and  within  its  pale  has  obtained 
the  name  of  the  Evangelical  movement.  However 
decayed  may  be  the  Evangelical  party  as  a  party,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  its  influence,  both  on  our  reli- 
gious ideas,  and  on  our  church  life,  has  penetrated  far 
beyond  those  party  limits.  3.  The  growth  and  gradual 
diffusion  through  all  religious  thinking  of  the  supre- 
macy of  reason.  This,  which  is  rather  a  principle,  or 
a  mode  of  thinking,  than  a  doctrine,  may  be  properly 
enough  called  Rationalism.  This  term  is  used  in  this 
country  with  so  much  laxity  that  it  is  impossible  to 
define  the  sense  in  which  it  is  generally  intended. 
It  is  often  taken  to  mean  a  system  opposed  to  revealed 
religion,  and  imported  into  this  country  from  Ger- 
many at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  A 
person,  however,  who  surveys  the  course  of  English 
theology  during  the  eighteenth  century  will  have  no 
difficulty  in  recognising,  that  throughout  all  discussions, 
underneath  all  controversies,  and  common  to  all  par- 
ties, lies  the  assumption  of  the  supremacy  of  reason 
in  matters  of  religion.  The  Kantian  philosophy  did 
but  bring  forward  into  light,  and  give  scientific  form 
and  a  recognised  position  to,  a  principle  which  had 
long  unconsciously  guided  all  treatment  of  religious 
topics  both  in  Germany  and  in  England.  Eationalism 
was  not  an  anti-Christian  sect  outside  tTie  Church 
making  war  against  religion.  It  was  a  habit  of 
thought  ruling  all  minds,  under  the  conditions  of 
which  all  alike  tried  to  make  good  the  peculiar 
opinions  they  might  happen  to  cherish.  The  Church- 
man differed  from  the  Socinian,  and  the  Socinian  from 
the  Deist,  as  to  the  number  of  articles  in  his  creed ; 
but  all  alike  consented  to  test  their  belief  by  the  ra- 
tional evidence  for  it.     Whether  given  doctrines  or 


25S      Tendencies  of  Beligious  Tlioiigld  in  England, 

miracles  were  conformable  to  reason  or  not  was  dis- 
puted between  the  defence  and  the  assault ;  but  that 
all  doctrines  were  to  stand  or  fall  by  that  criterion 
was  not  questioned.     The  principles  and  the  priority 

\  /  of  natural  religion  formed  the  common  hypothesis  on 
the  ground  of  which  the  disputants  argued  wlietheT 
,.  anything,  and  what,  had  been  subsequently  commu- 
'  nicated  to  man  in  a  supernatural  way.  The  line 
between  those  who  believed  much  and  those  who 
believed  little  cannot  be  sharply  drawn.  Some  of  the 
so-called  Deists  were,  in  fact,  Socinians ;  as  Toland, 
who  expressly  admits  all  those  parts  of  the  New 
Testament  revelation  which  are,  or  seem  to  him, 
comprehensible  by  reason.  {Christianity  not  Myste- 
rious?^ Nor  is  there  any  ground  for  thinking  that 
Toland  was  insincere  in  his  profession  of  rational 
Christianity,  as  was  insinuated  by  his  opponents — -e.g. 
Leland.  {View  of  the  Deistical  Writers,  vol.  i.  p.  49.) 
A  more  candid  adversary,  Leibnitz,  who  knew  Toland 
personally,  is  '  glad  to  believe  that  the  design  of  this 
author,  a  man  of  no  common  ability,  and  as  I  think, 
a  well-disposed  person,  was  to  withdraw  men  from 
:jf«peculative  theology  to  the  practice  of  its  precepts.' 
{Annotatiuncula  subitanecB.)  Hardly  one  here  and 
there,  as  Hume,  professed  Eationalism  in  the  extent 
of  Atheism ;    the    great    majority    of   writers    were 

V  /  employed  in  constructing  a  via  media  between  Atheism 
and  Athanasianism,  while  the  most  orthodox  were 
diligently  '  hewing  and  chiselling  Christianity  into  an 
intelligible  human  system,  which  they  theii  represented, 
as  thus  mutilated,  as  affording  a  remarkable  evidence, 
of  the  truth  of  the  Bible.'  {Tracts  for  the  Itvies, 
vol.  ii.  No.   73.)     The  title  of  Locke's  treatise,  The 

j         Beasonahleness  of  Christianity,  may  be   said  to  have 

J  been  the  solitary  thesis  of  Christian  theology  in  Eng- 
land for  great  part  of  a  century. 

If  we  are  to  put  chronological  limits  to  this  system 
of  religious  opinion  in  England,  we  might;  for  the 


i688— 1750.  259 

sake  of  a  convenient  landmark,  say  tliat  it  came  in 
with  the  Revolution  of  1688,  and  began  to  decline  in 
vigour  with  the  reaction  against  the  Reform  movement 
about  1830.  Locke's  Reasonableness  of  Christianity  ,  / 
would  thus  open,  and  the  commencement  of  the  Tracts 
Jor  the  Times  mark  the  fall  of  Rationalism.  Not  that 
chronology  can  ever  be  exactly  applied  to  the  mutations 
of  opinion.  For  there  were  Rationalists  before  Locke, 
e.^g.  Hales  of  Eton,  and  other  Arminians,  nor  has  the 
Church  of  England  unanimously  adopted  the  principles 
of  the  Tracts  for  the  Times.  But  if  we  were  to  follow 
up  Cave's  nomenclature,  the  appellation  Secidtim  Ba- 
tionalisticicm  might  be  affixed  to  the  eighteenth  century 
with  greater  precision  than  many  of  his  names  apply 
to  the  previous  centuries.  For  it  was  not  merely  that 
Rationalism  then  obtruded  itself  as  a  heresy,  or  ob- 
tained a  footing  of  toleration  within  the  Church,  but 
the  rationalizing  method  possessed  itself  absolutely  of 
the  whole  field  of  theology.  Withjiome  trifling  ex- 
ceptions, the  whole  of  religious  literature  was  drawn  \/ 
in  to  the  endeavour  to  '  prove  the  truth'  of  Christianity. 
The  essay  and  the  sermon,  the  learned  treatise  and 
the  philosophical  disquisition,  Addison  the  polite 
writer,  and  Bentley  the  classical  philologian  (Addison  : 
Evidences  of  the  Christian  Religion,  a  posthumous  pub- 
lication. Bentley  :  Eight  Sermons  at  Boyle  s  Lecture, 
1692),  the  astronomer  Newton  {Four  Letters,  Sj'c, 
Lond.  1756),  no  less  than  the  theologians  by  profession, 
were  all  engaged  upon  the  same  task.  To  one  book 
of  A.  Collins,  A  Discourse  on  the  Grounds  and  Beasons 
of  the  Christian  Beligion,  Lond.  1724,  are  counted  no 
less  than  thirty-five  answers.  Dogmatic  theology  had 
ceased  to  exist ;  the  exhibition  of  religious  truth  for  ^ 
practical  purposes  was  confined  to  a  few  obscure  ^ 
writers.  Every  one  who  had  anything  to  say  on 
sacred  subjects  drilled  it  into  an  array  of  argument 
against  a  supposed  objector.  Christianity  appeared 
made  for  nothing  else  bat  to  be  '  proved  ;'  what  use  to 

s  3 


260     Tetidencics  of  Relif/ious  Thought  in  England, 

make  of  it  when  it  was  proved  was  not  much  thouglit 

about.      Reason  was  at  first  offered  as  the  basis  of 

.^'     \/     faith,  but  gradually  became  its  substitute.     The  mind 

never  advanced  as  far  as  the  stage  of  belief,  for  it  was 

unceasingly  engaged  in  reasoning  up  to  it.     The  only 

quality  in   Scripture  which  was  dwelt  upon  was  its 

V     '  credibility.'     Even  the   '  Evangelical'  school,  which 

had  its  origin  in  a  reaction  against  the  dominant  Ea- 

tionalism,  and  began  in  endeavours  to  kindle  religious 

v^o^**     feeling,  was  obliged  to  succumb  at  last.     It,  too,  drew 

^l^\  out  its  rational  '  scheme  of  Christianity,'  in  which  the 

^  atonement  was  made  the  central  point  of  a  system, 

and  the  death  of  Christ  was  accounted  for  as  necessary 

to  satisfy  the  Divine  Justice. 

This  whole  rationalist  age  must  again  be  subdi- 
^ ,  vided  into  two  periods,  the  theology  of  which,  though 
belonging  to  the  common  type,  has  distinct  specific 
characters.  These  periods  are  of  nearly  equal  length, 
and  we  may  conveniently  take  the  middle  year  of  the 
century,  1750,  as  our  terminus  of  division.  Though 
both  periods  were  engaged  upon  the  proof  of  Christi- 
^  anity,  the   distinction  between  them  is  that  the  first 

Y'^^  period  was  chiefly  devoted  to  the  internal,  the  second 
^if  ^  y  i'O  the  external,  attestations.  In  the  first  period  the 
'■^  main  endeavour  was  to  show  that  there  v/as  nothing 

in  the  contents  of  the  revelation  which  was  not  agree- 
able to  reason.  In  the  second,  from  1750  onwards, 
the  controversy  was  narrowed  to  what  are  usually 
called  the  '  Evidences,'  or  the  historical  proof  of  the 
^  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the  Christian  records. 
Erom  this  distinction  of  topic  arises  an  important 
difference  of  value  between  the  theological  produce 
of  the  two  periods.  A  great  injustice  is  done  to  the 
i8tli  century,  when  its  whole  speculative  product  is 
set  down  under  the  description  of  that  Old  Bailey 
theology  in  which,  to  use  Johnson's  illustration,  the 
Apostles  are  being  tried  once  a  week  for  the  capital 
crime  of  forgery.     This  evidential  school — the  school 


^  ^*4^  1688— 1750.  261 

of  Lardner,  Paley,  and  Wliately — belongs  strictly  to 
the  latter  half  only  of  the  period  now  under  con- 
sideration. This  school,  which  treated  the  exterior 
evidence,  was  the  natural  sequel  and  supplement  of 
that  which  had  preceded  it,  which  dealt  with  the  in- 
trinsic credibility  of  the  Christian  revelation.  This 
historical  succession  of  the  schools  is  the  logical  order 
of  the  argument.  For  when  we  have  first  shown  that 
the  facts  of  Christianity  are  not  incredible,  the  whole  ^ 
burden  of  proof  is  shifted  to  the  evidence  that  the 
facts  did  really  occur.  Neither  branch  of  the  argu- 
ment can  claim  to  be  religious  instruction  at  all,  but 
the  former  does  incidentally  enter  upon  the  substance 
of  the  Gospel.  It  may  be  philosophy  rather  than 
theology,  but  it  raises  in  its  course  some  of  the  most 
momentous  problems  which  can  engage  the  human 
mind.  On  the  other  hand,  a  mind  which  occupies 
itself  with  the  '  external  evidences'  knows  nothing  of  t" 
the  spiritual  intuition,  of  which  it  renounces  at  once 
the  difficulties  and  the  consolations.  The  supply  of 
evidences  in  what  for  the  sake  of  a  name  may  be  called 
the  Georgian  period  (i  750-1830),  was  not  occasioned 
by  any  demands  of  controversy.  The  attacks  through 
the  press  were  nearly  at  an  end ;  the  Deists  had  ceased 
to  be.  The  clergy  continued  to  manufacture  evidence 
as  an  ingenious  exercise,  a  literature  which  was  avow- 
edly professional,  a  study  which  might  seem  theology 
without  being  it,  which  could  awaken  none  of  the 
scepticism  then  dormant  beneath  the  surface  of  society. 
Evidences  are  not  edged  tools ;  they  stir  no  feeling;  ^\ 
they  were  the  proper  theology  of  an  age,  whose  li- 
terature consisted  in  writing  Latin  hexameters.  The 
orthodox  school  no  longer  dared  to  scrutinize  the  con- 
tents of  revelation.  The  preceding  period  had  eli- 
minated the  religious  experience,  the  Georgian  had 
lost  besides,  the  power  of  using  the  speculative  rea- 
son. 

The  historical  investigation,  indeed,  of  the  OH^ines 


262      Tendencies  of  Religious  Thovght  in  England, 

of  Cliristianity  is  a  study  scarcely  second  in  importance 
to  a  philosophical  arrangement  of  its  doctrines.  But 
for  a  genuine  inquiry  of  this  nature  the  English  writers 
of  the  period  had  neither  the  taste  nor  the  knowledge. 
Gibbon  alone  approached  the  true  difficulties,  but  met 
only  with  opponents  '  victory  over  whom  was  a  suffi- 
cient humiliation.'  {Atdobiographi/.)  No  Englishman 
will  refuse  to  join  with  Coleridge  in  'the  admiration' 
he  expresses  '  for  the  head  and  heart '  of  Paley,  '  the 
incomparable  grace,  propriety,  and  persuasive  lacility 
of  his  writings.'  {Aids  to  Bejfection,  p.  401.)  But 
Paley  had  unfortunately  dedicated  his  powers  to  a 
factitious  thesis ;  his  demonstration,  however  perfect, 
is  in  unreal  matter.  The  case,  as  the  apologists  of 
that  day  stated  it,  is  wholly  conventional.  The 
breadth  of  their  assumptions  is  out  of  all  proportion 
to  the  narrow  dimensions  of  the  point  they  succeed  in 
proving.  Of  an  honest  critical  inquiry  into  the  origin 
and  composition  of  the  canonical  writings  there  is  but 
"f.  one  trace,  Herbert  Marsh's  Lectures  at  Cambridge,  and 
that  was  suggested  from  a  foreign  source,  and  died 
away  without  exciting  imitators.  That  investigation, 
introduced  by  a  bishop  and  professor  of  divinity,  has 
scarcely  yet  obtained  a  footing  in  the  English  Church. 
But  it  is  excluded,  not  from  a  conviction  of  its  barren- 
ness, but  from  a  fear  that  it  might  prove  too  fertile  in 
results.  This  unwholesome  state  of  theological  feeling 
among  us,  is  perhaps  traceable  in  part  to  the  falsetto 
of  the  evidential  method  of  the  last  generation.  We 
cannot  justify,  but  we  may  perhaps  make  our  predeces- 
sors bear  part  of  the  blame  of,  that  inconsistency,  which 
while  it  professes  that  its  religious  belief  rests  on  his- 
torical evidence,  refuses  to  allow  that  evidence  to  be 
freely  examined  in  open  court. 

It  seems,  indeed,  a  singular  infelicity  that  the  con- 

\j   struction  of  the  historical  proof  should  have  been  the 

^  task  which  the  course  of  events  allotted  to  the  latter 

'i  half  of  the  18th  century.     The  critical  knowledge  oi 


i688— 1750.  2C3 

antiquity  had  disappeared  from  tlie  Universities.  The 
past,  discredited  by  a  false  conservatism,  was  regarded  / 
with  aversion,  and  the  minds  of  men  directed  habitually 
to  the  future,  some  with  fear,  others  with  hope.  '  The 
disrespect  in  which  history  was  held  by  the  French 
jjJdlosojjJies  is  notorious  ]  one  of  the  soberest  of  them,  ^ 
D'Alembert,  we  believe,  was  the  author  of  the  wish  ./ 
that  all  record  of  past  events  could  be  blotted 
out.'  (Mill,  Disseiiations,  vol.  i.  p.  426.)  The  same 
sentiment  was  prevalent,  though  not  in  the  same 
degree,  in  this  country.  Hume,  writing  to  an  English- 
man in  1756,  speaks  of  'your  countrymen'  as  'given 
over  to  barbarous  and  absurd  faction,'  Of  his  own 
history  the  publisher,  Millar,  told  him  he  had  only 
sold  forty-five  copies  in  a  twelvemonth.  [Mi/  Oioii 
^if^)  P-  5-)  Warburton  had  long  before  complained  of 
the  Chronicles  published  by  Hearne  that '  there  is  not 
one  that  is  not  a  disgrace  to  letters  ;  most  of  them  are 
so  to  common  sense,  and  some  even  to  human  nature.' 
(Parr's  Tracts,  8fc.,  p.  109.)  The  oblivion  into  which 
the  remains  of  Christian  antiquity  had  sunk,  till 
disinterred  by  the  Tractarian  movement,is  well  known. 
Having  neither  the  critical  tools  to  work  with,  nor 
the  historical  materials  to  work  upon,  it  is  no  wonder 
if  they  failed  in  their  art.  Theology  had  almost  died 
out  when  it  received  a  new  impulse  and  a  new  direc- 
tion from  Coleridge.  The  evidence-makers  ceased  from 
their  futile  labours  all  at  once,  as  beneath  the  spell  of 
some  magician.  Englishmen  heard  with  as  much 
surprise  as  if  the  doctrine  was  new,  that  the  Christian 
faith,  the  Athanasian  Creed,  of  which  they  had  come 
to  wish  that  the  Church  was  well  rid,  was  '  the  per- 
fection of  human  intelligence  •'  that '  the  compatibility 
of  a  document  with  the  conclusions  of  self-evident 
reason,  and  with  the  laws  of  conscience,  is  a  condition 
a  priori  of  any  evidence  adequate  to  the  proof  of  its 
having  been  revealed  by  God,'  and  that  this  '  is  a 
principle  clearly  laid  down  by  Moses  and  St.  Paul  / 


264     Tendencies  of  Religious  Thought  in  Ent/land, 

lastly,  that  there  are  mysteries  in  Christianity,  but 
that  these  mysteries  are  reason,  reason  in  its  highest 
form  of  self-affirmation.'  {Aids  to  JReJlection,  Pref. 
Lit.  Remains,  iii.  293.)  In  this  position  of  Coleridge, 
the  rationalist  th  Oology  of  England,  which  was  in  the 
last  stage  of  dec.  j  and  dotage,  seemed  to  recover  a 
second  youth,  and  to  revert  at  once  to  the  point 
from  which  it  had  started  a  century  before. 

Should  the  religious  historian  then  acknowledge 
that  the  impatient  contempt  with  which  'the  last 
century'  is  now  spoken  of,  is  justifiable  with  respect 
to  the  later  period,  with  its  artificial  monotone  of  proof 
that  is  no  proof,  he  will  by  no  means  allow  the  same 
of  the  earlier  period  1688 — 1750.  The  superiority 
which  the  theological  writing  of  this  period  has  over 
that  which  succeeded  it,  is  to  be  referred  in  part  to  the 
superiority  of  the  internal,  over  the  external,  proof  of 
Cliristianity,  as  an  object  of  thought. 

Both  methods  alike,  as  methods  of  argumentative 
proof,  place  the  mind  in  an  unfavourable  attitude  for 
the  consideration  of  religious  truth.  It  is  like  re- 
moving ourselves  for  the  purpose  of  examining  an 
object  to  the  furthest  point  from  which  the  object  is 
visible.  Neither  the  external  nor  the  internal  evidences 
are  properly  theology  at  all.  Theology  is — Jst,  and 
primaril}^  the  contemplative,  speculative  habit,  by 
means  of  which  the  mind  places  itself  already  in 
another  world  than  this ;  a  habit  begun  here,  to  be 
raised  to  perfect  vision  hereafter.  2ndly,  and  in  an 
inferior  degree,  it  is  ethical  and  regulative  of  our  con- 
duct as  men,  in  those  relations  which  are  temporal  and 
transitory.  Argumentative  proof  that  such  knowledge 
is  possible  can  never  be  substituted  for  the  knowledge 
without  detriment  to  the  mental  habit.  What  is  true 
of  an  individual  is  true  of  an  age.  When  an  age  is 
found  occupied  in  proving  its  creed,  this  is  but  a  token 
that  the  age  has  ceased  to  have  a  proper  belief  in  it. 
JSTevertheless,  there  is  a  difference  in  this  respect  be- 


1688—1750.  265 

tween  the  sources  from  which  proof  may  be  fetched. 
Wliere  it  is  busied  in   estabhshing  the  '  genuineness  ^- 

and  authenticity '  of  the  books  of  Scripture,  neglecting  '^''*' 
its  rehgious  lessons,  and  drawing  out  instead  '  the  un- 
designed coincidences,'  Eationalism  is  seen  in  its 
dullest  and  least  spiritual  form.  A¥hen,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  contents  of  the  Revelation  are  being  freely 
examined,  and  reason,  as  it  is  called,  but  really  the 
philosophy  in  vogue,  is  being  applied  to  determine 
whether  the  voice  be  the  voice  of  God  or  not,  the  rea- 
soner  is  indeed  approaching  his  subject  from  a  false 
point  of  view,  but  he  is  still  engaged  with  the  eternal 
verities.  The  reason  has  prescribed  itself  an  impossi- 
ble task  when  it  has  undertaken  to  prove,  instead  of 
evolve  them ;  to  argue  instead  of  appropriate  them. 
But  anyhow,  it  is  handling  them  ;  and  by  the  contact 
is  raised  in  some  measure  to  the  '  height  of  that  great 
argument.' 

This  acknowledgment  seems  due  to  the  period  now 
referred  to.  It  is,  perhaps,  rather  thinking  of  its 
pulpit  eloquence  than  its  controversies,  that  Professor 
Eraser  does  not  hesitate  to  call  this  '  the  golden  age 
of  English  theology.'  {Essays  in  Pkiloso^jliy,  p.  205.) 
Such  language,  as  applied  to  our  great  preachers,  was 
once  a  matter  of  course,  but  would  now  hardly  be  used 
by  any  Anglican,  and  has  to  be  sought  for  in  the 
mouth  of  members  of  another  communion.  The 
names  which  once  commanded  universal  homage 
among  us — the  Souths,  Barrows,  Tillotsons,  Sherlocks, 
— excite,  perhaps,  only  a  smile  of  pity.  Literary 
taste  is  proverbially  inconstant ;  but  theological  is  still 
more  so,  for  here  we  have  no  rule  or  chart  to  guide 
us  but  the  taste  of  our  age.  Bossuet,  Bourduloue, 
and  Massillon  have  survived  a  dozen  political  revolu- 
tions. We  have  no  classical  theology,  though  we 
have  not  had  a  political  revolution  since  1660.  For 
in  this  subject  matter  the  most  of  Englishmen  have 
no  other  standard  of  merit  than  the  prejudices  of  sect. 


266     Tendencies  of  Religious  Thouglit  in  England. 

Eminence  only  marks  out  a  great  man  for  more  cordial 
hatred ;  every  flippant  High  Church  reviewer  has 
learnt  to  fling  at  Locke,  the  father  of  English  Ea- 
tionalism,  and  the  greatest  name  among  its  worthies. 
Others  are,  perhaps,  only  less  disliked  because  less 
known ;  qui  na  pas  de  lecteurs,  na  pas  d'adversaires.' 
The  principal  writers  in  the  Deistical  Controversy,  on 
either  side  of  it,  have  expiated  the  attention  they  once 
engrossed  by  as  universal  an  oblivion. 

The  Deijtical_Controyersy,  the  all-absorbing  topic 
of  religious  writers  and  preachers  during  the  whole  of 
this  first  period,  has  pretty  well-defined  limits.  Stil- 
lingfleet,  who  died  Bishop  of  Worcester,  in  the  last 
year  (1699)  of  the  seventeenth  century,  marks  the 
transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  argument.  In  the 
six  folios  of  Stillingfleet's  works  may  be  found  the 
latest  echoes  of  the  Romanist  Controversy,  and  the 
first  declaration  of  w^ar  against  Locke.  The  Deistical 
Controversy  attained  its  greatest  intensit}'  in  the 
twenties  (1720-1740),  after  the  subsidence  of  the  Ban- 
gorian  controversy,  which  for  a  time  had  diverted 
attention  to  itself,  and  it  gradually  died  out  towards 
the  middle  of  the  century.  The  decay  of  interest  in 
the  topic  is  sufiiciently  marked  by  the  fact  that  the 
opinions  of  Hume  failed  to  stimulate  curiosity  or  an- 
tagonism. His  Treatise  of  Hunum  Nature  (1739)  'fell 
dead-born  from  the  press,'  and  the  only  one  of  his 
philosophical  writings  w^hich  was  received  with  favour 
on  its  first  appearance  was  one  On  the  new  topic — 
Political  Bisourses  (1752).  Of  this  he  says  '  it  was  the 
only  work  of  mine  which  was  successful  on  the  first 
publication,  being  well  received  both  abroad  and  at 
home.'  {Mi/  Own  Life.)  Bolingbroke,  who  died  in 
1751,  was  the  last  of  the  professed  Deists.  When 
his  works  were  brought  out  by  his  executor.  Mallet, 
in  1754,  the  interest  in  them  was  already  gone ;  they 
found  the  public  cold  or  indisposed.  '  It  was  a  rusty 
blunderbuss,  which  he  need  not  have  been  afraid  to 


1688—1750.  2G7 

have  discharged  himself,  instead  of  leaving  half  a- 
crown  to  a  Scotchman  to  let  it  off  after  his  death.' 
{Bosicell,  p.  88.)  To  talk  Deism  had  ceased  to  be 
fashionable  as  soon  as  it  ceased  to  attract  attention. 

The  r_atipnaUsm,  which  is  the  common  character  of     .  / 
all  the  writers  of  this  time,  is  a  method  rather  than  a      ^ 
doctrine  ;  an  unconscious   assumption  rather  than  a 
piinciple  from  which  they  reason.     They  would,  how- 
ever, all  have  consented  in  statements  such  as  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Bp.  Gibson,  Second  Pastoral  Letter,  1 730.  *  Those 
among  us  who  have  laboured  of  late  years  to  set 
up  reason  against  revelation  would  make  it  pass  for 
an  established  truth,  that  if  you  will  embrace  re- 
velation you  must  of  course  quit  your  reason,  which 
if  it  were  true,  would  doubtless  be  a  strong  prejudice 
against  revelation.  But  so  far  is  this  from  being  true,  / 
tliat  it  is  universallij  achiowledged  that  revelation  itself 
is  to  stand  or  fall  hij  the  test  of  reason,  or,  in  other  words, 
according  as  reason  finds  the  evidences  of  its  coming 
from  God  to  be  or  not  to  be  suflB.cient  and  conclusive, 
and  the  matter  of  it  to  contradict  or  not  contradict  the 
natural  notions  which  reason  gives  us  of  the  being  and 
attributes  of  God.' 

Prideaux  (Humphrey,  Dean  of  Norwich),  Letter  to 
the  Deists,  1748.  '  Let  what  is  written  in  all  the 
books  of  the  N.  T.  be  tried  by  that  which  is  the  touch- 
stone of  all  religions,  I  mean  that  religion  of  nature 
and  reason  which  God  has  written  in  the  hearts  of 
every  one  of  us  from  the  first  creation ;  and  if  it  varies 
from  it  in  any  one  particular,  if  it  prescribes  any  one 
thing  which  may  in  the  minutest  circumstances  thereof 
be  contrary  to  its  righteousness,  I  will  then  acknow- 
ledge this  to  be  an  argument  against  us,  strong  enough 
to  overthrow  the  whole  cause,  and  make  all  things  else 
that  can  be  said  for  it  totally  ineffectual  for  its  support.' 

^Tillotson  (Archbishop  of  Canterbury),  Sermons,  vol. 
iii.  p.  485.      '  All  our  reasonings  about  revelation  are 


268     Tendencies  of  Iteligious  TJiougJit  in  England, 

necessarily  gathered  by  our  natural  notions  about 
religion,  and  therefore  he  who  sincerely  desires  to  do 
the  will  of  God  is  not  apt  to  be  imposed  on  by  vain 
pretences  of  divine  revelation ;  but  if  any  doctrine  be 
proposed  to  him  which  is  pretended  to  come  from  God, 
he  measures  it  by  those  sure  and  steady  notions  which 
he  has  of  the  divine  nature  and  perfections  ;  he  will 
consider  the  nature  and  tendency  of  it,  or  whether  it 
be  a  doctrine  according  to  godhness,  such  as  is  agree- 
able to  the  divine  nature  and  perfections,  and  tends  to 
make  us  like  unto  God ;  if  it  be  not,  though  an  angel 
should  bring  it,  he  would  not  receive  it.' 

Eogers  (John,  D.D.)j  Sermons  at  Bogle's  Lecture, 
^727,  p.  59-  'Our  religion  desires  no  other  favour 
than  a  sober  and  dispassionate  examination.  It  sub- 
mits its  grounds  and  reasons  to  an  unprejudiced  trial, 
and  hopes  to  approve  itself  to  the  conviction  of  any 
equitable  enquirer.* 

Butler  (Jos.,  Bp.  of  Durham),  Analogy,  8fc.,  pt.  2,ch.  1. 
.. '  Indeed,  if  in  revelation  there  be  found  any  passageSj 
^  /  the  seeming  meaning  of  which  is  contrary  to  natural 
^  religion,  we  may  most  certainly  conclude  such  seeming 
meaning  not  to  be  the  real  one.'      Ibid.,  ch.   8 :   'I 
have  argued  upon  the  principles  of  the  fatalists,  which 
I  do  not  believe  ;  and  have  omitted  a  thing  of  the  ut- 
most importance  which  I  do  believe  :  the  moral  fitness 
and  unfitness  of  actions,  prior  to  all  will  whatever, 
i    which  I  apprehend  as  certainly  to  determine  the  divine 
M    conduct,  as  speculative  truth  and  falsehood  necessarily 
determine  the  divine  judgment.' 

~~Tb  the  same  effect  the  leading  preacher  among 
the  Dissenters,  James  Foster,  Truth  and  ExceU 
lencg  of  the  Christian  Bev elation,  1731.  '  The  fa- 
culty of  reason  which  God  hath  implanted  in  man- 
kind, however  it  may  have  been  abused  and  neg- 
lected in  times  past,  will,  whenever  they  begin  to 
exercise  it  aright,  enable  them  to  judge  of  all  these 
things.       As  by  means  of  this  they  were  capable  of 


1668—1750.  2C9 

discovering  at  first  the  being  and  perfections  of  God, 
and  tliat  lie  governs  the  world  with  absolute  wisdom, 
equity,  and  goodness,  and  what  those  duties  are  which 
they  owe  to  him  and  to  one  another,  they  must  be  as 
capable,  if  they  will  divest  themselves  of  prejudice,  and 
reason  impartially,  of  rectifying  any  mistakes  they  may 
have  fallen  into  about  these  important  points.  It 
matters  not  whether  they  have  hitherto  thought  right 
or  wrong,  nor  indeed  whether  they  have  thought  at 
all ;  let  them  but  begin  to  consider  seriously  and 
examine  carefully  and  impartially,  and  they  must  be 
able  to  find  out  all  those  truths  which  as  reasonable 
creatures  they  are  capable  of  knowing,  and  which  affect 
their  duty  and  happiness.' 

Finally,  Warburton,  displaying  at  once  his  disdain 
and  his  ignorance  of  catholic  theology,  affirms  on  his 
own  authority,  Works,  iii.  p.  620,  that  'the  image  of  God 
in  which  man  was  at  first  created,  lay  in  the  faculty  of 
reason  only.' 

But  it  is  needless  to  multiply  quotations.  The  re- 
ceived theology  of  the  day  taught  on  this  point  the 
doctrine  of  Locke,  as  clearly  stated  by  himself.  {Essay^ 
fi"."  iv.  ch;  19,  f  4.)  *  Eeason  is  natural  revelation, 
whereby  the  eternal  Father  of  light  and  fountain  of 
all  knowledge  communicates  to  mankind  that  portion 
of  truth  which  he  has  laid  within  the  reach  of  their  / 
nafural  faculties ;  revelation  is  natural  reason  enlarged  ^ 
\)^  a  new  set  of  discoveries  communicated  by  God  im- 
mediately, which  reason  vouches  the  truth  of,  by  the 
testimony  and  proofs  it  gives,  that  they  come  from 
God.  So  that  he  that  takes  away  reason  to  make  way 
for  revelation,  puts  out  the  light  of  both,  and  does 
inuclPvvhat  the  same  as  if  he  would  persuade  a  man  to 
put  out  his  eyes  the  better  to  receive  the  remote  light 
of  an  invisible  star  by  a  telescope.' 

Ac,CDrding  to  this  assumption,  a  man's  religious  be-  ,• 
1^  is  a  result  which  issues  at  the  end  of  an  intellec-^  ^ 
tual"process.     In  arranging  the  steps  of  this  process,    .  / 


270     Tendencies  of  Religious  TJtou(/Jit  in  England, 

,  ,thej  conceived  natural  religion  to  form  the  first  stage 

'">^'of  tlie  journey.     That  stage  theologians  of  all  shac&s 

and  parties  travelled  in  company.     It  was  only  v^^hen 

they  had  reached  the  end  of  it  that  the  Deists  and  the 

Christian  apologists  parted.     The  former  found  that 

.  the  light  of  reason  which  had  guided  them  so  far  indi- 

/'  cated  no  road  beyond.    The  Christian  writers  declared 

that  the  same  natural  powers  enabled  them  to  reco- 

i'  ,     gnise  the  truth  of  revealed  religion.  The  sufficienc}^  of 

;'     natural  religion  tlms  became  the  turning  point  of  the 

dispute.     The  natural  law  of  right  and  duty,  argued 

j  the  Deists,  is  so  absolutely  perfect  that  God  could  not 
"^  add  anything  to  it.  It  is  commensurate  with  all  the 
real  relations  in  which  man  stands.  To  suppose  that 
God  has  created  artificial  relations,  and  laid  upon  man 
positive  precepts,  is  to  take  away  the  very  notion  of 
morality.  The  moral  law  is  nothing  but  the  condi- 
tions of  our  actual  being,  apparent  alike  to  those  of 
the  meanest  and  of  the  highest  capacity.  It  is  in- 
consistent with  this  to  suppose  that  God  has  gone 
on  to  enact  arbitrary  statutes,  and  to  declare  them  to 
man  in  an  obscure  and  uncertain  light.  This  was 
the  ground  taken  by  the  great  champion  of  Deism — 
Tindal,  and  expressed  in  the  title  of  the  treatise 
which  he  published  in  1732,  when  upwards  of  seventy, 
CliristianHy  as  old  as  ^TJie' Creation :  or,  the  Gospel  a 
ITejniUication  of  the  Beligion  of  Nature,  This  was  the 
point  which  the  Christian  defenders  laboured  most,  to 
.^  construct  the  bridge  which  should  unite  the..revealed 
to  the  natural.  They  never  demur  to  making  the  Na- 
tural the  basis  on  which  the  Christian  rests  ;  to  consi- 
dering the  natural  knowledge  of  God  as  the  starting 
point  both  of  the  individual  mind  and  of  the  human 
race.  This  assumption  is  necessary  to  their  scheme, 
in  which  revelation  is  an  argument  addressed  to  the 
reason.  Christianity  is  a  resume  of  the  knowledge 
of  God  already  attained  by  reason,  and  a  disclosure  of 
•s^^   further  truths.     These  further  truths  could  not  have 


i688— 1750.  271 

been  thought  out  by  reason ;  but  when  divinely  com- 
municated, they  approve  themselves  to  the  same  reason 
which  has  ah'eady  put  us   in  possession  of  so  much. 
The  new  truths  are  not  of  another  order  of  ideas,  for 
'  Christianity  is  a  particular  scheme  under  the  general 
plan  of  Providence  '  {Analoc/y,  pt.   2,   ch.  4,)  and  the 
whole  scheme  is  of  a  piece  and  uniform.     '  If  the  dis- 
pensation be  indeed  from  Grod,  all  the  parts  of  it  will 
be  seen  to  be  the  correspondent  members  of  one  entire 
whole,  which  orderly  disposition  of  things  essential, to 
a  religious  sj^stem  will  assure  us  of  the  true  theory  of 
the  Christian  faith.'     (Warburton,  Bivine  Legation,  ^'c, 
B.  ix.  Introd.    JForks,  vol.  iii.  p.  600.)     'Hp>v  these 
relations  are  made  known,  whether  by  reason  or  re- .      , 
vglatioh7  makes  no  alteration  in  the  case,  because  tlie  1  / 
duties  arise  out  of  the  relations  themselves,  not  out 
of  the  manner  in  which  we  are  informed  of  them.' 
{Ancdogy,  pt.  2,  ch.  i.)       'Those  very  articles  of  be- 
lief and  duties  of  obedience,  which  were  formerly  na- 
tural with  respect  to  their  manner  of  promulgation, 
are  now  in  the  declaration  of  them  also  supernatm-al.' 
{Ferguson,  Reasoti  in  Beligion,  1675,  p.  29.)     The  re- 
lations to  the  Redeemer  and  the  Sanctifier  are  not 
artificial,  but  as  real  as  those  to  the  Maker  and  Pre- 
server, and  the  obligations  arising  out  of  the  one  set 
of  relations  as  natural  as  those   arising  out  of  the 
other. 

The  deference  paid  to  natural  religion  is  further 
seen  in  the  attempts  to  establish  ajjriori  the  necessity 
of  a  revelation.  To  make  this  out  it  was  requisite 
tb  show  that  the  knowledge  w4th  which  reason  could 
supply  us  was  inadequate  to  be  the  guide  of  life,  yet 
reason  must  not  be  too  much  depressed,  inasmuch  as  ' 
it  was  needed  for  the  proof  of  Chi'istianity.  On  the 
one  hand,  the  moral  state  of  the  heathen  world  prior 
to  the  preaching  of  Cln'istianity,  and  of  Pagan  and 
■  savage  tribes  in  Africa  and  America  now,  the  super- 
stitions of  the  most  civilized  nations  of  antiquity,  the 


] 


272     Tendencies  of  Heligious  Thought  in  England, 


intellectual  follies  of  the  wisest  philosophers,  are  ex- 
hibited in  great  detail.  The  usual  arguments  of  scep- 
ticism on  the  conscious  weakness  of  reason  are  brought 
forward,  but  not  pushed  very  far.  Reason  is  to  be 
humiliated  so  far  as  that  supernatural  light  shall  be 

V/   seen  to  be  necessary,  but  it  must  retain  its  competence 

'  to  Judge  of  the  evidence  of  the  supernatural  message. 
/  IfTatural  relitj-ion  is  insufiicient  as  a  lisi-ht  and  a  motive 
/  to  sTiow  us  our  way,  and  to  mahe  us  wal^  in  it ;  it  is 

\J  sufficient  as  a  light  and  a  motive  to  lead  us  to  reve- 
lation, and  to  induce  us  to  embrace  it.  How  much 
of  religious  truth  was  contained  in  natural  knowledge, 
or  how  much  was  due  to  supernatural  communication, 
was  v€ry  variously  estimated.  Locke,  especially,  had 
warned  against  our  liability  to  attribute  to  reason 

\  ;  much  of  moral  truth  that  had  in  fact  been  derived 
'  from  revelation.  But  the  uncertainty  of  the  demar- 
cation between  the  two  is  only  additional  proof  of  the 
identity  of  the  scheme  which  they  disclose  between 
them.  The  whole  of  God's  government  and  dealings 
with  man  form  one  wide-spread  and  consistent  scheme, 
of  which  natural  reason  apprehends  a  part,  and  of 
which  Christianity  was  the  manifestation  of  a  further 
part.  Consistently  herewith  they  treated  natural  re- 
ligion, not  as  an  historical  dispensation,  but  as  an  ab- 
stract demonstration.  There  never  was  a  timie  when 
mankind  had  realized  or  established  an  actual  system 
of  natural  religion,  but  it  lies  always  potentially  in 
his  reason.  It  held  the  same  place  as  the  social  con- 
tract in  political  history.  The  '  original  contract'  had 
never  had  historical  existence,  but  it  was  a  hypothesis 
necessary  to  explain  the  existing  fact  of  society.  No 
society  had,  in  fact,  arisen  on  that  basis,  yet  it  is  the 
theoretical  basis  on  which  all  society  can  be  shown  to 
rest.  So  there  was  no  time  or  country  where  the  reli- 
gion of  nature  had  been  fully  known,  j^et  the  natural 
knowledge  of  God  is  the  only  foundation  in  the  human 
mind  on  which  can  be  built  a  rational  Christianit}-. 


1688—1750.  273 

Tliongli  not  an  original  condition  of  any  part  ot 
mankind,  it  is  an  ever-originating  condition  of  every 
human  mind,  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  reason  on  the 
facts  of  rehgion,  rendering  all  the  moral  phenomena 
available  for  the  construction  of  a  scientific  theory  of 
religion. 

In  accordance  with  this  view  they  interpreted  the  pas- 
sages in  St,  Paul  which  speak  of  the  religion  of  the  hea- 
then ;  e.(j.,  Eom.  ii.  14.   Since  the  time  of  Augustine  {De 
Sjjir.   et  Lit.   §    27)  the  orthodox  interpretation  had 
applied  this  verse,  either  to  the  Grentile  converts,  or  to 
the  favoured  few  among  the   heathen  who  had  extra- 
ordinary divine  assistance.     The  Protestant  expositors, 
to  whom  the  words  '  do  by  nature  the  things  contained 
in  the  law,'  could  never  bear  their  literal  force,  sedu- 
lously preserved  the  Augustinian  explanation.     Even 
the  Pelagian  Jeremy  Taylor  is   obliged  to  gloss  the 
phrase     '  by  nature,'  thus :     '  By    fears    and    secret 
opinions  which  the  Spirit  of  God  who  is  never  wanting 
to  men  in  things  necessary  was  pleased  to  put  into  the 
hearts  of  men.'     {Duct.  Biihit.  B.  ii.  ch.  i,  §  3.)     The 
rationalists,  however,  find  the  expression  '  by  nature,'  in 
its  literal  sense,  exactly  conformable  to  their  own  views 
(Wilkins,  Of  Nat.  Ret.  ii.  c.  9),  and  have  no  difficulty 
even  in  supposing  the   acceptableness  of  these  works, 
and  the  salvability  of  those  who  do  them.     Burnet  on 
Art.  xviii.,  in  his  usual  confused  style  of  eclecticism, 
suggests  both  opinions  without  seeming  to  see  that 
they  are  incompatible  relics  of  divergent  schools  of 
doctrine. 

Consequent  with  such  a  theory  of  religion  was  their 
notion  of  its  practical  bearings.  Christianity  was  a 
republication  of  the  moral  law — a  republication  ren- 
dered necessary  by  the  helpless  state  of  moral  debase- 
ment into  which  the  world  was  come  by  the  practice 
of_v:ic(3.  The  experience  of  ages  had  proved  that, 
tliough  our  duty  might  be  discoverable  by  the  light  of 
nature,  yet  yh'tue  was  not  able  to  maintain  itself  in " 

T 


Tr 


\y 


274      Tendencies  of  Beli^ioiis  TJiougld  in  England, 

tlipi  wnrlrl  -yy-^thonf,  additional  (Sanctions.  The  disin- 
terestedness of  virtue  was  here  a  point  much  debated. 
Tlie  Deists,  in  general,  argued  from  the  notion  of 
morality,  that  so  far  as  any  private  regard  to  my  own 
interest,  whether  present  or  future,  influences  my 
condact,  so  far  my  actions  have  no  moral  worth.  From 
this  they   drew  the  inference  that  the  rewards  and 

/punishments  of  Christianity — these  additional  sanc- 
tions— could  not  be  a  divine  ordinance,  inasmuch  as 
they  were  subversive  of  morality.  The  orthodox 
writers  had  to  maintain  the  theory  of  rewards  and 
punishments  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  be  inconsistent 
with  the  theory  of  the  disinterestedness  of  virtue 
which  they  had  made  part  of  their  theology.  Even 
here  no  precise  line  can  be  drawn  between  the  Deistical 
and  the  Christian  moralists.  For  we  find  Shaftesbury 
placing  in  a  very  clear  light  the  mode  in  which  religious 
sanctions  do,  in  fact,  as  society  is  constituted,  support 
and  strengthen  virtue  in  the  world,  though  he  does 
not  deny  that  the  principle  of  virtue  in  the  individual 
may  suffer  from  the  selfish  passion  being  appealed  to 
by  the  hope  of  reward  or  the  fear  of  punishment. 
{Characteristicks,  vol  ii.  p.  66.)  But  with  whatever 
variation  in  individual  disputants,  the  tone  of  the  dis- 
cussions is  unmistakeable.  When  Collins  was  asked, 
*  Why  he  was  careful  to  make  his  servants  go  to 
Church  ?  he  is  said  to  have  answered,  '  I  do  it  that 
they  may  neither  rob  nor  murder  me.'  This  is  but 
an  exaggerated  form  of  the  practical  religion  of  the 
age.  Tillotson's  Sermon  {Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  43)  '  On 
the  Advantages  of  Heligion  to  Societies'  is  like  CoUins's 
\  reply  at  fuller  length.  The  Deists  and  their  opponents 
\  alike  assume  that  the  purpose  of  the  supernatural 
\|  interference  of  the  Deity  in  revelation  must  liave  been 
to  secure  the  good  behaviour  of  man  in  this  world; 
that  the  future  life  and  our  knowledge  of  it  may  be  a 
means  to  this  great  end  ;  tliat  the  next  world,  if  it 
exist  at  all,  bears  that  relation  to  the  present.  We 
are  chiefly  familiar  with  tli€se  views  from  their  having 


1688—1750.  275 

been  long  the  butt  of  the  Evangelical  pulpit,  a  chief  ^ 
topic  in  which  was  to  decry  the  mere  '  legal'  preaching 
of  a  preceding  age.  To  abstain  from  vice,  to  cultivate 
virtue,  to  fill  our  station  in  life  with  propriety,  to 
bear  the  ills  of  life  with  resignation,  and  to  use  its 
pleasures  moderately — these  things  are  indeed  not 
little  ;  perhaps  no  one  can  name  in  his  circle  of  friends 
a  man  whom  he  thinks  equal  to  these  demands.  Yet 
the  experience  of  the  last  age  has  shown  us  unmistake- 
ably  that  where  this  is  our  best  ideal  of  life,  whether, 
with  the  Deists,  we  establish  the  obligation  of  morality 
on  '  independent'  grounds ;  or,  with  the  orthodox,  add 
the  religious  sanction — in  Mr.  Mill's  rather  startling 
mode  of  putting  it  {Dissertations,  vol.  ii.p.  436), 'Because 
God  is  stronger  than  we,  and  able  to  damn  us  if  we 
don't' — it  argues  a  sleek  and  sordid  epicurism,  in  which 
religion  and  a  good  conscience  have  their  place  among 
the  means  by  which  life  is  to  be  made  comfortable. 
To  accuse  the  divines  of  this  age  of  a  leaning  to 
A.rminianism  is  quite  beside  the  mark.  They  did  not 
intend  to  be  other  than  orthodox.  They  did  not 
take  the  Arminian  side  rather  than  the  Calvinistic  in 
the  old  conflict  or  concordat  between  Faith  and  Works, 
between  Justification  and  Sanctification.  They  had 
dropt  the  terminology,  and  with  it  the  mode  of  think- 
ing, which  the  terms  implied.  They  had  adopted  the 
language  and  ideas  of  the  moralists.  They  spoke  not 
of  sin,  but  of  vice,  and  of  virtue,  not  of  works.  In 
the  old  Protestant  theology  actions  had  only  a  certain 
exterior  relation  to  the  justified  man ;  '  gute  fromme 
Werke  machen  nimmermehr  einen  guten  frommen 
Mann,  sondern  ein  guter  frommer  Mann  macht  gute 
Werke.'  {Luther.)  Now,  our  conduct  was  thought  of, 
not  as  a  product  or  efflux  of  our  character,  but  as 
regulated  by  our  understanding ;  by  a  perception  of 
relations,  or  a  calculation  of  consequences.  This 
intellectual  perception  of  regulative  truth  is  religious 
Faith.     Faith  is  no  longer  the  devout  condition  of  the 


276     Tendencies  of  Religions  TJtoiigltt  in  England, 

entire  inner  man.  •  Its  dynamic  nature,  and  interior 
working,  are  not  denied,  but  tliey  are  unknown  ;  and 
religion  is  made  to  regulate  life  from  without,  through 
the  logical  proof  of  the  being  and  attributes  of  God, 
upon  which  an  obligation  to  obey  him  can  be  raised. 

The  preachers  of  any  period  are  not  to  be  censured 
for  adapting  their  style  of  address  and  mode  of  argu- 
ing to  their  hearers.     They  are  as  necessarily  bound 
to  the  preconceived  notions,  as  to  the  language,  of 
those  whom  they  have  to  exhort.     The  pulpit  does 
not  mould  the  forms  into  which  religious  thought  in 
any  age  runs,  it  simply  accommodates  itself  to  those 
that  exist.     For  this  very  reason,  because  they  must 
o^follow  and  cannot  lead,  sermons  are  the  surest  index 
Tof  the  prevailing  religious  feeling  of  their  age.     When 
we  are  reminded  of  the   powerful   influence  of  the 
pulpit  at  the   Reformation,  in  tlie  time  of  the  Long 
Parliament,  or  at  the  Methodist  revival,  it  must  also 
be  remembered  that  these  preachers  addressed  a  dif- 
ferent class  of  society  from  that  for  which  our  classical 
pulpit  oratory  was  written.     If  it  could  be  said  that 
*  Sherlock,  Hare,  and  Gibson  preach  in  vain,'  it  was 
because  the  populace  were  gone  to  hear  mad  Henley 
on  his  tub.     To  charge  Tillotson  or  Foster  with  not 
moving  the  masses  which  Whitefield   moved,  is  to 
charge  them  with   not  having  preached  to   another 
congregation  than  that  to  which  they  had  to  preach. 
Nor  did  they  preach  to  empty  pews,  though  their 
carefully- written    '  discourses'    could    never    produce 
effects   such  as  are  recorded  of  Burnet's   extempore 
addresses,  when  he  '  was  often  interrupted  by  the  deep 
hum  of  his  audience,  and  when,  after  preaching  out 
the  hour-glass,  he  held  it  up  in  his  hand,  the  congre- 
gation clamorously  encouraged  him  to  go  on  till  the 
sand  had  run  offence  more.'    {Macaiday^  vol.  ii.  p.  177,) 
The   dramatic  oratory  of  Whitefield  could  not  have 
sustained  its  power  over  the  same  auditors  ;  lie  had  a 
fresh  congregation  every  Sunday.     And  in  the  judg- 


i688— 1750.  277 

ment  of  one  quite  disposed  to  do  justice  to  Wliitefield 
there  is  nothing  in  his  printed  sermons.  Johnson 
(ap.  Boswell)  speaking  of  the  comparisons  drawn 
between  the  preaching  in  the  Church  and  that  of 
the  Methodists  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  former, 
says,  '  I  never  treated  Whitefield's  ministry  with  eon- 
tempt  ;  I  believe  he  did  good.  But  when  familiarity 
and  noise  claim  the  praise  due  to  knowledge,  art,  and 
elegance,  we  must  beat  down  such  pretensions.'  It 
is,  however,  the  substance,  and  not  the  manner,  of  the 
classical  sermons  of  the  eighteenth  century  which  is 
meant,  when  they  are  complained  of  as  cold  and  barren. 
Prom  thi?.  accusation  they  cannot  be  vindicated.  But 
let  it  be  rightly  understood  that  it  is  a  charge  not 
against  the  preachers  but  against  the  religious  ideas 
of  the  period.  In  the  pulpit,  the  speaker  has  no  choice 
but  to  take  his  audience  as  he  finds  them.  He  can 
but  draw  them  on  to  the  conclusions  already  involved 
in  their  premisses.  He  cannot  supply  them  with  a 
new  set  of  principles,  or  alter  their  fixed  forms  of 
thought.  The  ideas  out  of  which  the  Protestant  or 
the  Puritan  movement  proceeded  were  generated  else- 
where than  in  the  pulpit. 

The  Pationalist  preachers  of  the  eighteenth  century 
are  usually  contrasted  with  the  Evangelical  pulpit 
which  displaced  them.  Mr.  Neale  has  compared  them 
disadvantageously  with  the  medieval  preachers  in  re- 
spect of  Scripture  knowledge.  He  selects  a  sermon 
of  the  eighteenth  and  one  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  the 
one  by  the  well-known  Evangelical  preacher  John 
Newton,  Rector  of  St.  Mary  Woolnoth ;  the  other  by 
Guarric,  Abbot  of  Igniac.  '  In  Newton's  sermon 
we  find  nine  references  to  the  Gospels,  two  to  the 
Ejjistles,  nine  to  the  Prophets,  one  to  the  Psalms,  and 
none  to  any  other  part  of  Scripture,  In  the  sermon 
of  Guarric  we  find  seven  references  to  the  Gospels^  one 
to  the  Epistles,  twenty-two  to  the  Psalms,  nine  to  the 
Prophets,  and  eighteen  to  other  parts  of  Scripture. 


278     Tendencies  of  Religious  TJiougId  in  England, 

Thus  the  total  number  of  quotations  made  by  the 
EvangeHcal  preacher  is  twenty-one,  by  Guarric  fifty- 
seven,  and  this  in  sermons  of  about  equal  length.' 
{MedicBval  Preaching,  Introd.  xxvi.)  Mr.  Neale  has, 
perhaps,  not  been  fortunate  in  his  selection  of  a  sj)eci- 
men  sermon.  For  having  the  curiosity  to  apply  this 
somewhat  childish  test  to  a  sermon  of  John  Blair,  taken 
at  random  out  of  his  four  volumes,  I  found  the  number 
of  texts  quoted  thirty-seven.  But,  passing  this  by, 
Mr.  Neale  misses  his  inference.  He  means  to  show 
how  much  more  Scripture  knowledge  was  possessed 
by  the  preachers  of  the  '  dark  ages.'  This  is  very 
likely,  if  familiarity  with  the  mere  words  of  the 
Vulgate  version  be  Scripture  knowledge.  But  it  is 
not  proved  by  the  abstinence  of  the  i8th  century 
preacher  from  the  use  of  Biblical  phraseology.  The 
fact,  so  far  as  it  is  one,  only  shows  that  our  divines 
understood  Scripture  differently,  some  will  say  better, 
than  the  Middle  Age  ecclesiastics.  The  latter  had,  in 
the  mystical  theology  of  the  Christian  Church,  a  rich 
store  of  religious  sentiment,  which  it  was  an  exercise 
of  their  ingenuity  to  find  in  the  poetical  books  of  the 
Hebrew  canon.  Great  part  of  this  fanciful  allegorizing 
is  lost,  apart  from  the  Vulgate  translation.  But  of 
this  the  more  learned  of  them  were  quite  aware,  and 
on  their  theory  of  Scripture  interpretation,  according 
to  which  the  Church  was  its  guaranteed  expositor,  the 
verbal  meanings  of  the  Latin  version  were  equally  the 
inspired  sense  of  the  sacred  record.  It  was  other- 
wise with  the  English  divine  of  the  i8th  century. 
According  to  the  then  received  view  of  Scripture,  its 
meaning  was  not  assigned  by  the  Church,  but  its  lan- 
guage was  interpreted  by  criticism — i.e.,  by  reason. 
'The  aids  of  history,  the  ordinary  rules  of  grammar 
and  logic,  were  applied  to  find  out  what  the  sacred 
writers  actually  said.  That  was  the  meaning  of 
Scripture,  the  message  supernaturally  communicated. 
Where  each  text  of  Scripture  has  but  one  sense — that 


1688—1750.  279 

sense  in  wlilcli  the  writer  ])enned  it — it  can  only  be 
cited  in  that  sense  without  doing  it  violence.  This 
was  the  turn  by  which  Selden  so  discomfited  the 
Puritan  divines,  who,  like  the  Catholic  mystics,  made 
Scripture  words  the  vehicle  of  their  own  feelings. 
*  Perhaps  in  your  little  pocket  Bibles  with  gilt  leaves 
the  translation  may  be  thus,  but  the  Greek  or  Hebrew 
signifies  otherwise.'  (Whitelocke,  ap.  Johnson's  Life 
of  Selden,  p.  303.)  If  the  preacher  in  the  18th  cen- 
tury had  allowed  himself  to  make  these  allusions, 
the  taste  of  his  audience  would  have  rejected  them. 
He  would  have  weakened  his  argument  instead  of 
giving  it  effect. 

No  quality  of  these  '  Discourses '  strikes  us  more 
now  than  the  good  sense  which  pervades  them.  They 
are  the  complete  reaction  against  the  Puritan  sermon 
of  the  17th  century.  We  have  nothing  far-fetched, 
fanciful,  allegoric.  The  practice  of  our  duty  is  recom- 
mended to  us  on  the  most  undeniable  grounds  of  pru- 
dence. Barrow  had  indulged  in  ambitious  periods, 
and  South  had  been  jocular.  Neither  of  these  faults 
can  be  alleg-ed  a^rainst  the  model  sermon  of  the  Hano- 
verian  period.  No  topic  is  produced  which  does  not 
compel  our  assent  as  soon  as  it  is  understood,  and  none 
is  there  which  is  not  understood  as  soon  as  uttered. 
It  is  one  man  of  the  world  speaking  to  another.  Col- 
lins said  of  St.  Paul,  '  that  he  had  a  great  respect  for 
him  as  both  a  man  of  sense  and  a  gentleman.'  He 
might  have  said  the  same  of  the  best  pulpit  divines  of 
his  own  time.  They  bear  the  closest  resemblance  to 
each  other,  because  they  all  use  the  language  of  fashion- 
able society,  and  say  exactly  the  proper  thing.  'A  per- 
son,' says  Waterland,  '  must  have  some  knowledge  of 
men,  besides  that  of  books,  to  succeed  well  here  ;  and 
must  have  a  kind  of  practical  sagacity  which  nothing 
but  the  grace  of  God  joined  with  recollection  and  wise 
observation  can  bring,  to  be  able  to  represent  truths  to 
the  life,  or  to  any  considerable  degree  of  advantage.' 


u" 


280     Tendencies  of  ReIi(/ions  Thougld  in  England^ 

This  is  from  Lis  recommendatory  preface  prefixed  to 
an  edition  of  Blair's  Sermons  (1739)  ;  not  the  Presby- 
terian Dr.  Hugh  Blair,  but  John  Blair,  the  founder 
and  first  President  of  a  Missionary  College  in  Virginia, 
whose  '  Sermons  on  the  Beatitudes  '  were  among  the 
most  approved  models  of  the  day,  and  recommended 
by  the  bishops  to  their  candidates  for  orders.  Dr. 
Hugh  Blair's  Sermons,  which  Johnson  thought  '  ex- 
cellently written,  both  as  to  doctrine  and  language,' 
(ap.  Bosivell,  p.  528),  are  in  a  different  taste — that  of 
the  latter  half  of  the  century,  when  solid  and  sensible 
reasoning  was  superseded  by  polished  periods  and 
fiowery  rhetoric.  '  Polished  as  marble,'  says  Hugh 
J.  Rose,  '  but  also  as  lifeless  and  as  cold.'  The  ser- 
mons which  Waterland  recommends  to  young  students 
of  Divinity  comprise  Tillotson,  Sharp,  Calamy,  Sprat, 
Blackball,  Hoadly,  South,  Claggett,  and  Atterbury. 
Of  these,  '  Sharp's,  Calamy's,  and  Blackhall's  are  the 
best  models  for  an  easy,  natural,  and  familiar  way  of 
writing.  Sprat  is  fine,  florid  and  elaborate  in  his  style, 
artful  in  his  method,  and  not  so  open  as  the  former, 
but  harder  to  be  imitated.  Hoadly  is  very  exact  and 
judicious,  and  both  his  sense  and  style  just,  close,  and 
clear.  The  others  are  very  sound,  clear  writers,  only 
Scot  is  too  swelling  and  pompous,  and  South  is  some- 
thing too  full  of  wit  and  satire,  and  does  not  always 
observe  a  decorum  in  his  style.'  He  advises  the  stu- 
dent to  begin  his  divinity  course  with  reading  sermons, 
because  '  they  are  the  easiest,  plainest,  and  most  enter- 
taining of  any  books  of  divinity  ;  and  might  be  digested 
into  a  better  body  of  divinity  than  any  that  is  yet 
extant.'     {Advice  to  a  Yomuj  Student,  1730.) 

Not  only  the  pulpit,  but  the  whole  theological  lite- 
rature of  the  age,  takes  the  same  tone  of  appeal.  Books 
are  no  longer  addressed  by  the  cloistered  academic  to 
a  learnedly  educated  class,  they  are  written  by  popular 
divines — '  men  of  leisure,'  Butler  calls  them — for  the 
use  of  fashionable  society.     There  is  an  epoch  in  the 


-I750.  281 

history  of  letters  when  readers  and  writers  change 
places ;  when  it  ceases  to  be  the  reader's  business  to 
come  to  the  writer  to  be  instructed,  and  the  writer 
begins  to  endeavour  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
reader.  The  same  necessity  was  now  laid  upon  the 
religious  writer.  He  appeared  at  the  bar  of  criticism, 
and  must  gain  the  wits  and  the  town.  At  the  debate 
between  the  Deists  and  the  Christian  apologists  the 
public  was  umpire.  The  time  was  past  when  Baxter 
'  talked  about  another  world  like  one  that  had  been 
there,  and  was  come  as  a  sort  of  express  from  thence 
to  make  a  report  concerning  it.'  (Calamy,  Life,  i.  220.) 
As  the  preacher  now  no  longer  spake  with  the  autho- 
rity of  a  heavenly  mission,  but  laid  the  state  of  the 
argument  before  his  hearers,  so  philosophy  was  no 
longer  a  self-centered  speculation,  an  oracle  of  wisdom. 
The  divine  went  out  into  the  streets,  with  his  demon- 
stration of  the  being  and  attributes  of  God  printed  on 
a  broadside  ;  he  solicits  your  assent  in  '  the  new  court- 
jargon.'  When  Collins  visited  Lord  Barrington  at 
Tofts,  '  as  they  were  all  men  of  letters,  and  had  a  taste 
for  Scripture  criticism,  it  is  said  to  have  been  their 
custom  after  dinner,  to  have  a  Greek  Testament  laid 
on  the  table.'  {Biog.  Brit.  Art.  'Barrington.')  These 
discussions  were  not  necessarily  unprofitable.  Lord 
Bolingbroke  '  w^as  seldom  in  the  company  of  the 
Countess  of  Huntingdon  without  discussing  some 
topic  beneficial  to  his  eternal  interests,  and  he  always 
paid  the  utmost  respect  and  deference  to  her  lady- 
ship's opinion.'  {Memoirs  of  Countess  of  Hunt.,  i.  180.) 
Bishop  Butler  gives  his  clergy  hints  how  to  conduct 
themselves  when  *  sceptical  and  profane  men  bring  up 
the  subject  (religion)  at  meetings  of  entertainment, 
and  such  as  are  of  the  freer  sort ;  innocent  ones,  I 
mean,  otherwise  I  should  not  suppose  you  would  be 
present  at  them.'  {Darhani  Charge,  1751).  Tindal's 
reconversion  from  Romanism  is  said  to  have  been, 
brought  about  by  the  arguments  he  heard   in   the 


^ 

xV 


282     Tendencies  of  Beli^ious  Thougld  in  England, 

coffee-houses.  This  anecdote,  given  in  Curll's  catch- 
penny '  Life,'  rests,  not  on  that  bookseller's  authority, 
which  is  worthless,  but  on  that  of  the  medical  man 
who  attended  him  in  his  last  illness.  It  was  the  same 
with  the  controversy  on  the  Trinity,  of  which  Water- 
land  says,  in  1723,  that  it  was  'spread  abroad  among 
all  ranks  and  degrees  of  men,  and  the  Athanasian 
creed  become  the  subject  of  common  and  ordinary  con- 
versation.' {Critical  Hist,  of  the  Atlian.  Creed,  Introd.) 
The  Universities  were  invaded  by  the  spirit  of  the  age, 
and  instead  of  taking  students  through  a  laborious 
course  of  philosopliy,  natural  and  moral,  turned  out 
accomplished  gentlemen  upon  '  the  classics '  and  a 
scantling  of  logic.  Berkeley's  ironical  portrait  of  the 
modish  philosopher  is  of  date  1732.  '  Lysicles  smiled, 
and  said  he  believed  Euphranor  had  figured  to  himself 
philosophers  in  square  caps  and  long  gowns,  but  thanks 
to  these  happy  times,  the  reign  of  pedantry  was  over. 
Our  philosophers  are  of  a  very  different  kind  from  those 
awkward  students  who  think  to  come  at  knowledge 
by  poring  on  dead  languages  and  old  authors,  or  by 
sequestering  themselves  from  the  cares  of  the  world 
to  meditate  in  solitude  and  retirement.  They  are  the 
best  bred  men  of  the  age,  men  who  know  the  world, 
men  of  pleasure,  men  of  fashion,  and  fine  gentlemen. 
EuPH. :  I  have  some  small  notion  of  the  people  you 
mention,  but  should  never  have  taken  them  for  philo- 
sophers. Cri.  :  Nor  would  any  one  else  till  of  late. 
The  world  was  long  under  a  mistake  about  the  way  to 
knowledge,  thinking  it  lay  through  a  tedious  course 
of  academical  education  and  study.  But  among  the 
discoveries  of  the  present  age,  one  of  the  principal  is 
the  finding  out  that  such  a  method  doth  rather  retard 
and  obstruct,  than  promote  knowledge.  Lis. :  I  will 
undertake,  a  lad  of  fourteen,  bred  in  the  modern  way, 
shall  make  a  better  figure,  and  be  more  considered  in 
any  drawing-room,  or  assembly  of  polite  people,  than 
one  at  four-and-twenty,  who  hath  lain  by  a  long  time 


i688— 1750.  283 

at  school  and  college.  He  shall  say  better  things,  in 
a  better  manner,  and  be  more  liked  by  good  judges. 
EuPH. :  Where  doth  he  pick  up  this  improvement  ? 
Cri.  :  Where  our  grave  ancestors  would  never  have 
looked  for  it,  in  a  drawing-room,  a  coffee-house,  a 
chocolate-house,  at  the  tavern,  or  groom-porter's.  In 
these  and  the  like  fashionable  places  of  resort,  it  is 
the  custom  for  polite  persons  to  speak  freely  on  all  sub- 
jects, religious,  moral,  or  political.  So  that  a  young 
gentleman  who  frequents  them  is  in  the  way  of  hear- 
ing many  instructive  lectures,  seasoned  with  wit  and 
raillery,  and  uttered  with  spirit.  Three  or  four  sen- 
tences, from  a  man  of  quality,  spoken  with  a  good  air, 
make  more  impression,  and  convey  more  knowledge, 
than  a  dozen  dissertations  in  a  dry  academical  way. 
.  .  You  may  now  commonly  see  a  young  lady, 
or  a  petit  maitre,  non-plus  a  divine  or  an  old-fashioned 
gentleman,  who  hath  read  many  a  Greek  and  Latin 
author,  and  spent  much  time  in  hard  methodical  study.' 
{Alciphron,  Dial.  i.  ^  ii.) 

Among  a  host  of  mischiefs  thus  arising,  one  positive 
good  may  be  signalized.  If  there  must  be  debate, 
there  ought  to  be  fair  play ;  and  of  this,  publicity  is 
the  best  guarantee.  To  make  the  public  arbiter  in  an 
abstract  question  of  metaphysics  is  doubtless  absurd ; 
yet  it  is  at  least  a  safeguard  against  extravagance  and 
metaphysical  lunacy.  The  verdict  of  public  opinion 
on  such  toj)ics  is  worthless,  but  it  checks  the  inevitable 
tendency  of  closet  speculation  to  become  visionary. 
There  is  but  one  sort  of  scepticism  that  is  genuine, 
and  deadly  in  proportion  as  it  is  real ;  that,  namely, 
which  is  forced  upon  the  mind  by  its  experience  of 
the  hollowness  of  mankind ;  for  '  men  may  be  read,  as 
well  as  books,  too  much.'  That  other  logical  scepti- 
cism which  is  hatched  by  over-thinking  can  be  cui'ed 
by  an  easy  remedy ;  ceasing  to  think. 

The  objections  urged  against  revelation  in  the 
course  of  the  Deistical  controversy  were  no  chima;ras 


284     Tendencies  of  Religious  Thought  in  England, 

of  a  sickly  brain,  but  solid  charges;  tbe  points  brought 
into  public  discussion  were  the  points  at  which  the 
revealed  system  itself  impinges  on  human  reason. 
No  time  can  lessen  whatever  force  there  may  be  in 
the  objection  against  a  miracle ;  it  is  felt  as  strongly 
in  one  century  as  in  another.  The  debate  was  not 
frivolous ;  the  objections  were  worth  answering,  be- 

%;  cause  they  were  not  pitched  metaphysically  high.  To 
a  platonizing  divine  they  look  trivial ;  picked  up  in 
the  street.  So  Origen  naturally  thought  '  that  a  faith 
which  could  be  shaken  by  such  objections  as  those  of 
Celsus  was  not  worth  much.'  {Cont.  Cels.,  Pref  §  4.) 
Just  such  were  the  objections  of  the  Deists ;  such  as 
come  spontaneously  into  the  thoughts  of  practical  men, 
who  never  think  systematically,  but  who  are  not  to  be 
imposed  upon  by  fancies.  Persons  sneer  at  the  '  shal- 
low Deism '  of  the  last  century ;  and  it  is  customary 
to  reply  that  the  antagonist  orthodoxy  was  at  least  as 
shallow.  The  truth  is,  the  '  shallowness'  imputed  be- 
longs to  the  mental  sphere  into  which  the  debate  was 
for  the  time  transported.  The  philosophy  of  the  age 
was  not  above  its  mission.  '  Philosophy,'  thought 
Thomas  Eeid,  in  1764,  'has  no  other  root  but  the 
principles  of  common  sense ;  it  grows  out  of  them,  it 
draws  its  nourishment  from  them ;  severed  from  this 
root,  its  honours  wither,  its  sap  is  dried  up,  it  dies 
and  rots.'  {Inquiry,  ^'c.,  Intr.  §  4.)  We,  in  the  pre- 
sent generation,  have  seen  the  great  speculative  move- 

j  ment  in  Germany  die  out  from  this  very  cause,  because 
it  became  divorced  from  the  facts  on  which  it  specu- 
lated. Shut  up  in  the  Universities,  it  turned  inwards 
on  itself,  and  preyed  on  its  own  vitals.  It  has  only 
been  neglected  by  the  world,  because  it  first  neglected 
the  great  facts  in  which  the  world  has,  and  feels,  an 
interest. 

If  ever  there  was  a  time  when  abstract  speculation 
was  brought  down  from  inaccessible  heights  and  com- 

1^    pelled  to  be  intelligible,  it  was  the  period  from  the 


1688—1750.  2S5 

Revolution  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Closet 
speculation  has  been  discredited ;  the  cobwebs  of 
scholasticism  were  exploded  ;  the  age  of  feverish  doubt  ^ 
an^  egotistical  introspection  had  not  arrived.  In  that 
age  the  English  higher  education  acquired  its  practical 
aim  ;  an  aim  in  which  the  development  of  the  under- 
standing, and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  are  consi- 
dered secondary  objects  to  the  formation  of  a  sound 
secular  judgment,  of  the  '  scholar  and  the  gentleman' 
of  the  old  race  of  schoolmasters.  Biirke  contrasting 
his  own  times  with  the  preceding  age  '  considered  our 
forefathers  as  deeper  thinkers  than  ourselves,  because 
the}^  set  a  higher  value  on  good  sense  than  on  know- 
ledge in  various  sciences,  and  their  good  sense  was 
derived  very  often  from  as  much  study  and  more 
knowledge,  though  of  another  sort.'  {Recollections  hy 
Samuel  Rogers,  p.  81.) 

When  a  dispute  is  joined,  e.g.  on  the  origin  and 
composition  of  the  Grospels,  it  is,  from  the  nature  of 
the  case,  confined  to  an  inner  circle  of  Biblical  scholars. 
The  mass  of  the  public  must  wait  outside,  and  receive 
the  result  on  their  authority.  The  religious  public 
w^ere  very  reluctant  to  resign  the  verse  i  John  v.  7, 
but  they  did  so  at  last  on  the  just  ground  that  after  a 
philological  controversy  conducted  with  open  doors,  it 
had  been  decided  to  be  spurious.  No  serious  man 
would  consider  a  popular  assembly  a  proper  court  to 
decide  on  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation,  or  on  the 
Hegelian  definition  of  Grod,  though  either  is  easily 
capable  of  being  held  up  to  the  ridicule  of  the  half 
educated  from  the  platform  or  the  pulpit.  It  is  other- 
wise with  the  greater  part  of  the  points  raised  in  the 
Deistical  controversy.  It  is  not  the  speculative  reason 
of  the  few,  but  the  natural  conscience  of  the  many,  "** 
that  questions  the  extirpation  of  the  Canaanites,  or 
the  eternity  of  hell- torments.  These  are  points  of 
divinity  which  are  at  once  fundamental  and  popular. 
Butler,  though  not  approving  '  of  entering  into  an 


286     Tendencies  of  Helif/ious  TJiought  in  England^ 

argumentative  defence  of  religion  in  common  conver- 
sation,' recommends  his  clergy  to  do  so  from  the  pulpit 
on  the  ground  that,  '  such  as  are  capable  of  seeing  the 
force  of  objections,  are  also  capable  of  seeing  the  force 
of  the  answers  which  are  given  to  them.'  {Durham 
Charge.^  If  the  philosophic  intellect  be  dissatisfied  with 
the  answers  which  the  divines  of  that  day  gave  to  the 
difficulties  started,  let  it  show  how,  on  the  rationalist 
hypothesis,  these  difficulties  are  removeable  for  the 
mass  of  those  who  feel  them.  The  transcendental 
reason  provides  an  answer  which  possibly  satisfies 
itself;  but  to  the  common  reason  the  answer  is  more 
perplexing  than  the  difficulty  it  would  clear. 

M.  Villemain  has  remarked  in  Pascal,  'that  fore- 
sight which  revealed  to  him  so  many  objections  un- 
known to  his  generation,  and  which  inspired  him  with 
the  idea  of  fortifying  and  intrenching  positions  which 
were  not  threatened.'  The  objections  which  Pascal  is 
engaged  with  are  not  only  not  those  of  his  age,  they 
are  not  such  as  could  ever  become  general  in  any  age. 
They  are  those  of  the  higher  reason,  and  the  replies 
are  from  the  same  inspiration.  Pascal's  view  of 
human  depravity  seems  to  the  ordinary  man  but  the 
despair  and  delirium  of  the  self-tormenting  ascetic. 
The  cynical  view  of  our  fallen  nature,  however,  is  at 
least  a  possible  view.  It  is  well  that  it  should  be  ex- 
plored, and  it  will  always  have  its  prophets,  Calvin 
or  Pochefoucault.  But  to  ordinary  men  an  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  revelation,  founded  on  such  an  as- 
sumption, will  seem  to  be  in  contradiction  to  his  daily 
experience.  Pascal's  Pensees  stand  alone  ;  a  work  of 
individual  genius,  not  belonging  to  any  age.  The  ce- 
lebrity which  the  Analogy  of  Bishop  Butler  has  gained 
is  due  to  the  opposite  reason.  It  is  no  paradox  to  say 
t]iat  the  merit  of  the  Analogy  lies  in  its  want  of  origi- 
nality. It  came  ( i,2,gj^  towards  the  end  of  the  Deisti- 
cal  period.  It  is  the  result  of  twenty  years'.  stii,dy — 
the  very  twenty  years  during  which  the  Deistical  no- 


1688—1750.  2S7 

tions  formed  tlie  atmosphere  wliicli  educated  people 
breathed.  The  objections  it  meets  are  not  new  and 
unseasoned  objections,  but  such  as  had  worn  well,  and 
had  borne  the  rub  of  controversy,  because  they  were 
genuine.  And  it  will  be  equally  hard  to  find  in  the 
Analof/ij  any  topic  in  reply,  which  had  not  been  sug- 
gestecl  in  the  pamphlets  and  sermons  of  the  preceding 
half  century.  Like  Aristotle's  physical  and  political 
treatises,  it  is  a  resume  of  the  discussions  of  more  than 
one  generation.  Its  admirable  arrangement  only  is 
all  its"  own.  Its  closely  packed  and  carefully  fitted 
order  speaks  of  many  years'  contrivance.  Its  sub- 
stance are  the  thoughts  of  a  whole  age,  not  barely 
compiled,  but  each  reconsidered  and  digested.  Every 
brick  in  the  building  has  been  rung  before  it  has  been 
relaid,  and  replaced  in  its  true  relation  to  the  complex 
and  various  whole.  In  more  than  one  passage  we  see 
that  the  construction  of  this  fabric  of  evidence,  which 
'  consists  in  a  long  series  of  things,  one  preparatory 
to  and  confirming  another  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world  to  the  present  time,'  {Durham  Charge) 
was  what  occupied  Butler's  attention.  '  Compass  of 
thought,  even  amongst  persons  of  the  lowest  rank* 
(P/r/.  to  Sermons),  is  that  form  of  the  reflective  faculty 
to  which  he  is  fond  of  looking  both  for  good  and  evil. 
He  never  will  forget  that  'justice  must  be  done  to 
every  part  of  a  subject  when  we  are  considering  it.' 
{Sermon  iv.)  Harmony,  and  law,  and  order,  he  will 
suppose  even  where  he  does  not  find  them.  The  ten- 
dency of  his  reason  was  that  which  Bacon  indicates  ; 
*  the  spirit  of  a  man  being  of  an  equal  and  uniform 
substance  doth  usually  suppose  and  feign  in  nature  a 
greater  equality  and  uniformity  than  is  in  truth.' 
{Advancement  of  Learning.)  This  is,  probably,  the 
true  explanation  of  the  'obscurity'  which  persons 
sometimes  complain  of  in  Butler's  style.  The  rea- 
son or  matter  he  is  producing  is  palpable  and  plain 
enough.     But  he  is  so  solicitous  to  find  its  due  place 


288      Tendencies  of  Bellgioiis  ThovjjU  in  Ungland, 

in  the  tlien  stage  of  the  argument,  so  scrupulous  to 
give  it  its  exact  weight  and  no  more,  so  careful  in  ar- 
ranging its  situation  relatively  to  the  other  members 
of  the  proof,  that  a  reader  who  does  not  bear  in  mind 
that  '  the  effect  of  the  wliole'  is  what  the  architect  is 
preparing,  is  apt  to  become  embarrassed,  and  to  think 
that  obscurity  which  is  really  logical  precision.     The 
generality  of  men  are  better  qualified  for  understand- 
ing particulars  one  by  one,  than  for  taking  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  the  whole.     The  philosophical  breadth 
which  we  miss  in  Butler's  mode  of  conceiving  is  com- 
pensated for  by  this  judicial  breadth  in  his  mode  of 
arguing,  which  gives  its  place  to   each  consideration, 
but  regards  rather  the  cumulative  force  of  the  whole. 
Many  writers  before  Butler  had  insisted  on  this  cha- 
racter of  the  Christian  evidences.     Dr.  Jenkin,  Mar- 
garet Professor  at  Cambridge,  whose  Beasonableness  and 
Ceriainiy  of  the  Christian  Religion  (17  21)  was  the  '  Paley' 
of  divinity  students  then,  says,  '  there  is  an  excellency 
in  every  part  of  our  religion  separately  considered,  but 
the  strength  and  vigour  of  each  part  is  in  the  relation 
it  has  to  the  rest,  and  the  several  parts  must  be  taken 
altogether,  if  we  would  have  a  true  knowledge,  and 
make  a  just  estimate  of  the  whole.   {Beasonableness,  8fc. 
Pt.  ii.  Pref.  1721.)     But  Butler  does  not  merely  take 
the  hint  from  others.     It  is  so  entirely  the  guiding 
rule  of  his  hand  and  pen  that  it  would  appear  to  have 
been  forced  upon  him  by  some  peculiar  experience  of 
his  own.     It  was  in  society,  and  not  in  his  study,  that 
he  had  learned  the  weight  of  the  Deistical  arguments. 
At  the  Queen's  philosophical  parties,  where  these  to- 
pics were  canvassed  with  earnestness  and  freedom,  he 
must  have  often  felt  the  impotence  of  reply  in  detail, 
and  seen,  as  he  says,  *  how  impossible  it  must  be,  in  a 
cursory  conversation,  to  unite  all  this  into  one  argu- 
ment, and  represent  it  as  it  ought.'     {Durham  Charge.) 
Hence  his  own  labour  to  work  up  his  materials  into 
a  connected  framework,  a  methodized  encyclopa3dia  of 
all  the  extant  topics. 


1688—1750.  289 

Not  that  lie  did  not  pay  attention  to  the  parts. 
Butler's  eminence  over  his  contemporary  apologists 
is  seen  in  nothing  more  than  in  that  superior  sagacity 
which  rejects  the  use  of  imj  plea  that  is  not  entitled 
to  consideration  singly.  In  the  other  evidential  books 
of  the  time  we  find  a  miscellaneous  crowd  of  sugges- 
tions of  very  various  value ;  never  fanciful,  but  often 
trivial ;  undeniable,  but  weak  as  proof  of  the  point 
they  are  brought  to  prove.  Butler  seems  as  if  he  had 
sifted  these  books,  and  retained  all  that  was  solid  in 
them.  If  he  built  with  brick,  and  not  with  marble, 
it  was  because  he  was  not  thinking  of  reputation,  but 
of  utility,  and  an  immediate  purpose.  Mackintosh 
wished  Butler  had  had  the  elegance  and  ornament  of 
Berkeley.  They  would  have  been  sadly  out  of  place. 
'  There  Avas  not  a  spark  of  the  littleness  of  literary 
ambition  about  him.  There  was  a  certain  naturalness 
in  Butler's  mind,  which  took  him  straight  to  the 
questions  on  which  men  differed  around  him.  Grenerally 
it  is  safer  to  prove  what  no  one  denies,  and  easier  to 
explain  difficulties  which  no  one  has  ever  felt.  A 
quiet  reputation  is  best  obtained  in  the  literary  qua^s- 
tiunculse  of  important  subjects.  But  a  simple  and 
straightforward  man  studies  great  topics  because  he 
feels  a  want  of  the  knowledge  which  they  contain. 
He  goes  straight  to  the  real  doubts  and  fundamental 
discrepancies,  to  those  on  which  it  is  easy  to  excite 
odium,  and  difficult  to  give  satisfaction  ;  he  leaves  to 
others  the  amusing  skirmishing  and  superficial  literature 
accessory  to  such  studies.  Thus  there  is  nothing 
light  in  Butler,  all  is  grave,  serious,  and  essential ; 
nothing  else  would  be  characteristic  of  him.'  (Bagehot, 
Estimates,  Sfc,  p.  189.)  Though  he  has  rifled  their 
books  he  makes  no  display  of  reading.  In  the  Analofjy 
he  never  names  the  author  he  is  answering.  In  tne 
Sermons  he  quotes,  directly,  only  Hobbes,  Shaftesbury, 
Wollaston,  Eochefoucaulc,  and  Fenelon.  From  his 
writings  we  should  infer  that  his  reading  was  not  pro- 

u 


290     Tendencies  of  Bclif/ious  ThoiiglLt  in  England, 

miscuous,  even  had  he  not  himself  given  us  to  under- 
stand how  much  opportunity  he  had  of  seeing  the 
idleness  and  waste  of  time  occasioned  by  light  reading. 
{Sermons,  Pref.) 

This  popular  appeal  to  the  commpn_reason_of  men, 
-^  which  is  one  characteristic  of  the  rationalist  period, 
was  a  first   effort  of  English  theology  to  find  a  new 
basis  for  doctrine  which  should  replace  those  founda- 
tions   which  had   failed   it.      The    Reformation    had 
destroyed  the  authority  of  the  Church  upon  which 
Eevelation  had  so  long  rested.     The  attempt  of  the 
Laudian  divines  to  substitute  the  voice  of  the  national 
Church  for  that  of  the  Church  universal  had  met  with 
only  very  partial  and  temporary  success.     When  the 
Eevolution  of  1688  introduced  the  freedom  of  the  press 
and  a  general  toleration,  even  that  artificial  authority 
which,  by  ignoring  non-conformity,  had  produced  an 
appearance    of    unity,    and    erected    a    conventional 
standard  of  truth  and  falsehood,  fell  to  the  ground. 
The  old  and  venerated  authority  had  been  broken  by 
the  Reformation.     The  new  authority  of  the  Anglican 
establishment  had  existed  in  theory  only,  and  never  in 
fact,  and  the  Revolution  had  crushed  the  theory,  which 
was  now  confined  to  a  small  band  of  non-jurors.     In 
reaction   against  Anglican    '  authority,'    the   Puritan 
movement  had  tended  to  rest  faith  and  doctrine  upon 
the   inward   light  within  each  man's  breast.      This 
tendency  of  the  neiv  Puritanism,  which  we  may  call 
Independency,  was  a  development  of  the  old,  purely 
scriptural,    Puritanism    of  Presbyterianism.     But    it 
was  its  natural  and  necessary  development.     It  was  a 
consequence  of  the  controversy  with  the  establishment. 
Por  both  the  Church  and  Dissent  agreed  in  acknow- 
ledging  Scripture  as   their  foundation,  and  the  con- 
troversy   turned    on    the    interpreter    of    Scripture. 
Nor   was   the    doctrine    of    the    inner   light,    which 
individualized  the  basis  of  faith,  confined  to  the  Non- 
conformists.    It  was  shared  by  a  section  of  the  Church, 


i68S— 1750.  291 

of  wliom  Cudwortli  is  the  type,  to  whom  '  Scripture 
faith  is  not  a  mere  believing  of  historical  things,  and 
upon  artificial  arguments  or  testimonies  only,  but  a 
certain  higher  and  diviner  power  in  the  soul  that 
peculiarly  correspondeth  with  the  Deity.'  {Intellectaal 
Spfem,  Pref )  The  inner  light,  or  witness  of  the  Spirit 
in  the  soul  of  the  individual  believer,  had,  in  its  turn, 
fallen  into  discredit  through  the  extravagances  to 
Avhich  it  had  given  birth.  It  was  disowned  alike  by 
Gil urchmen  and  Nonconformists,  who  agree  in  speaking 
with  contemptuous  pity  of  the  '  sectaries  of  the  last 
a2:e.'  The  re-action  ao'ainst  individual  relio'ion  led  to 
this  first  attempt  to  base  revealed  truth  on  reason.  ^ 
And  for  the  purpose  for  which  reason  was  now  wanted, 
the  higher,  or  philosophic,  reason  was  far  less  fitted 
than  that  universal  understanding  in  which  all  men 
can  claim  a  share.  The  '  inner  light,'  which  had  made 
each  man  the  dictator  of  his  own  creed,  had  exploded 
in  ecclesiastical  anarchy.  The  appeal  from  the  frantic 
discord  of  the  enthusiasts  to  reason  must  needs  be,  not 
to  an  arbitrary  or  particular  reason  in  each  man,  but 
to  a  common  sense,  a  natural  discernment,  a  reason  of  fj>Af 
universal  obligation.  As  it  was  to  be  universally 
binding,'  it  must  be  generally  recognisable.  It  must 
be  something  not  confined  to  the  select  few,  a  gift  of 
the  self-styled  elect,  but  a  faculty  belonging  to  all  men 
of  sound  mind  and  average  capacity.  Truth  must  be 
accessible  to  '  the  bulk  of  mankind.'  It  was  a  time 
when  the  only  refuge  from  a  hopeless  maze,  or  wild 
chaos,  seemed  to  be  the  rational  consent  of  the  sensible 
and  unprejudiced.  '  Have  the  bulk  of  mankind,' 
w^rites  Locke,  '  no  other  guide  but  accident  and  blind 
chance  to  conduct  them  to  their  happiness  or  misery  ? 
Are  the  current  opinions  and  licensed  guides  of  ev^ery 
country  sufficient  evidence  and  security  to  every  man 
to  venture  his  great  concernments  on  ?  Or,  can  those 
be  the  certain  and  infallible  oracles  and  standards  of 
truth  which  teach  one   thing  in   Christendom,    and 

u   2 


29:2      Tendencies  of  Heligious  Tliovcjld  in  England, 

another  in  Turkey  ?  Or  shall  a  poor  countryman  l^e 
eternally  happy  for  having  the  chance  to  be  born  in 
Italy  ?  Or  a  clay  labourer  be  unavoidably  lost  because 
lie  had  the  ill-luck  to  be  born  in  England?  How 
ready  some  men  may  be  to  say  some  of  these  things,  I 
will  not  here  examine  ;  but  this  I  am  sure,  that  men 
must  allow  one  or  other  of  these  to  be  true,  or  else 
grant  that  God  has  furnished  men  with  faculties 
sufficient  to  direct  them  in  the  way  they  should  take, 
if  they  will  but  seriously  employ  them  that  way, 
when  their  ordinary  vocations  allow  them  the  leisure.' 
{Essay,  Book  iv.  ch.  19,  §  3.) 

Such  an  attempt  to  secure  a  foundation  in  a  new 
consensus  will  obviously  forfeit  depth  to  gain  in  com- 
prehensiveness. This  phase  of  rationalism — '  Eation- 
alismus  vulgaris  ' — resigns  the  transcendental,  that  it 
may  gain  adherents.  It  wants,  not  the  elect,  but  all 
men.  It  cannot  afford  to  embarrass  itself  with  the 
attempt  to  prove  what  all  may  not  be  required  to 
receive.  Accordingly  there  can  be  no  mysteries  in  Chris- 
tianity. The  word  ^ivm{]piov,  as  Archbishop  Whately 
j)oints  out  [Essays,  2nd  ser.,  5th  eel.,  p.  288),  always 
means  in  the  New  Testament  not  that  which  is  in- 
comprehensible, but  that  which  was  once  a  secret, 
though  now  it  is  revealed  it  is  no  longer  so.  Whately, 
Avho  elsewhere  (Paley's  Evidences,  new  ed.)  speaks  so 
contemptuously  of  the  '  cast-off  clothes '  of  the  Deists, 
is  here  but  adopting  the  argument  of  Toland  in  his 
Christianify  not  Mysterious.  (Cf.  Balguy,  Discourses, 
p.  237.)  There  needs  no  special  'preparation  of  heart' 
to  receive  the  Gospel,  the  evidences  of  religion  are 
sufficient  to  convince  every  unprejudiced  inquirer. 
Unbelievers  are  blameworthy,  as  deaf  to  an  argument 
which  is  so  plain  that  they  cannot  but  understand  it, 
and  so  convincing  that  they  cannot  but  be  aware  of 
its  force.  Under  sucli  self-imposed  conditions  religious 
proof  seems  to  divest  itself  of  all  that  is  divine,  and 
out  of  an  excess  of  accommodation  to  the  recipient 


1688—1750-  293 

facult}^  to  cease  to  be  a  transforming  tliouglit.  Ration- 
alism can  object  to  the  old.  sacramental  system  tliat  it 
degrades  a  spiritual  iniluence  into  a  pliysical  effect. 
But  rationalism  itself,  in-order  to  make  the  proof  of 
revelation  universal,  is  obliged  to  resolve  religion  into 
the  moral  government  of  God  by  rewards  and  punisli- 
meiits,  and  especially  the  latter.  It  is  this  anthropo- 
morphic conception  of  God  as  the  '  Governor  of  the 
universe,'  which  is  presented  to  us  in  the  theology  of 
the  Hanoverian  divines,  a  theology  which  excludes  on 
principle  not  only  all  that  is  poetical  in  life,  but  all 
that  is  sublime  in  religious  speculation.  '  To  degrade 
religion  to  the  position  of  a  mere  purveyor  of  motive  '^ 
to  morality  is  not  more  dishonourable  to  the  ethics 
which  must  ask,  than  to  the  religion  which  will  render 
such  assistance.'  (A.  J.  Vaughan,  Essays,  vol.  i.  p. 
6r,)  It  is  this  character  that  makes  the  reading  even 
of  the  Analogy  so  depressing  to  the  soul,  as  Tholuck 
{Vermischfe  Schriffen,  i.  193)  says  of  it  'we  weary  of 
a  long  journey  on  foot,  especially  through  deep  sand.' 
Human  nature  is  not  only  humbled  but  crushed.  It 
IS  a  common  charge  against  the  i8th  century  divines 
that  they  exalt  man  too  much,  by  insisting  on  the 
dignity  of  human  nature,  and  its  native  capacities  for 
virtue.  This  was  the  charge  urged  against  the  ortho- 
dox by  the  evangelical  pulpit.  But  only  very  super- 
ficial and  incompetent  critics  of  doctrine  can  suppose 
that  man  is  exalted  by  being  thrown  upon  his  moral 
faculties.  The  history  of  doctrine  teaches  a  very  .  ' 
different  lesson.  Those  periods  when  morals  have 
been  represented  as  the  proper  study  of  man,  and  his 
only  business,  have  been  periods  of  spiritual  abasement 
and  poverty.  The  denial  of  scientific  theology,  the  • 
keeping  in  the  back-ground  the  transcendental  objects  } 
of  faith,  and  the  restriction  of  our  faculties  to  the 
regulation  of  our  conduct,  seem  indeed  to  be  placing 
man  in  the  foreground  of  the  picture,  to  make  human 
nature  the  centre  round  which  all  thins^s  revolve.    But 


294     Tendencies  of  Meliglous  TlioKgld  in  England, 

this  seeming  effect  is  produced  not  by  exalting  the 
visible,  but  by  materializing  the  invisible.  'If  there  be  a 
sphere  of  knowledge  level  to  our  capacities  and  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  us,  we  ought  surely  to  apply  our- 
selves with  all  diligence  to  this  our  proper  business,  and 
esteem  everything  else  nothing,  nothing  as  to  us,  in 
comparison  of  it.  .  .  .  Our  province  is  virtue 
and  religion,  life  and  manners  ;  the  science  of  improving 
the  temper  and  making  the  heart  better.  This  is  the 
field  assigned  to  us  to  cultivate ;  how  much  it  has  lain 
neglected  is  indeed  astonishing.  .  .  .  He  who 
should  find  out  one  rule  to  assist  us  in  this  work  would 
deserve  infinitely  better  of  mankind  than  all  the  im- 
provers of  other  knowledge  put  together.'  {Sermon 
XV.)  This  is  the  theolog}^  of  Butler  and  his  contem- 
poraries ;  a  utilitarian  theology,  like  the  Baconian  phi- 
losophy, contemning  all  employment  of  mental  power 
which  does  not  bring  in  fruit.  '  Intellectui  non  plumse, 
sed  plumbum  addendum  et  pondera/  (Bacon,  Nov.  Or., 
i.  104,)  might  be  its  device. 

In  the  Analogy  it  is  the  same.  His  term  of  compari- 
son, the  'constitution  and  course  o^  nature'  is  not  what 
we  should  understand  b}^  that  term ;  not  what  science 
can  disclose  to  us  of  the  laws  of  the  cosmos,  but  a  nar- 
row observation  of  what  men  do  in  ordinary  life.  We 
see  what  he  means  by  the  '  constitution  of  things,'  by 
his  saying  {Sermon  xv.)  that  '  the  writings  of  Solomon 
are  very  much  taken  up  with  reflections  upon  human 
nature  and  human  life ;  to  which  he  hath  added,  in 
Ecclesiastes,  reflections  upon  the  constitution  of  things.' 
In  Part  i.  ch.  3,  of  the  Jinalogi/,  he  compares  the  moral 
government  of  God  with  the  natural — the  distinction 
is  perhaps  from  Balguy  {Divine  Rectitude,  p.  39), — that 
is  to  say,  one  part  of  natural  religion  with  another  ; 
for  the  distinction  vanishes,  except  upon  a  very  con- 
ventional sense  of  the  term  '  moral.'  Altogether  we 
miss  in  these  divines  not  only  "distinct  philosophical 
conceptions,  but  a  scientific  use  of  terms.    Dr.  Whewell 


i688— 1750.  295 

considers  that  Butler  shunned  'the  appearance  of 
technical  terms  for  the  elements  of  our  moral  consti- 
tution on  which  he  speculated,'  and  thinks  that  he 
'  was  driven  to  indirect  modes  of  expression.'  {Moral 
Philosoplij/  in  England,  p.  109.)  The  truth  is  that 
Butler  uses  the  language  of  his  day  upon  the  topics  on 
which  he  writes.  The  technical  terms,  and  strict 
logical  forms,  which  had  been  adhered  to  by  the 
writers,  small  as  well  as  great,  of  the  17th  century, 
had  been  disused  as  pedantic ;  banished  first  from 
literature,  and  then  from  education.  They  did  not 
appear  in  style,  because  they  did  not  form  part  of  the 
mental  habit  of  the  writers.  Butler  does  not,  as  Dr. 
Whewell  supposes,  think  in  one  form,  and  write  in 
another,  out  of  condescension  to  his  readers.  He 
thinks  in  the  same  lang-uao'e  in  which  he  and  those 
around  him  speak.  Mr.  Hort's  remark,  that  '  Butler's 
writings  are  stoic  to  the  core  in  the  true  and  ancient 
sense  of  the  word  '  {Cambridge  Essays,  1856,  p.  337), 
must  be  extended  to  their  style.  The  English  style 
of  philosophical  writing  in  the  Hanoverian  period  is 
to  the  English  of  the  17th  century,  as  the  Greek  of 
Epictetus,  Antoninus,  or  Plutarch,  is  to  that  of  Ari- 
stotle. And  for  the  same  reason.  The  English  stoics 
and  their  Greek  predecessors  were  practical  men  who 
moralized  in  a  practical  way  on  the  facts  of  common  life, 
and  in  the  language  of  common  life.  Neither  the  rhe- 
torical Schools  of  the  Empire,  nor  the  Universities  of 
England,  any  longer  taught  the  correct  use  of  meta- 
physical language.  To  imitate  classical  Latin  Avas 
become  the  chief  aim  of  the  University  man  in  his 
public  exercises,  and  precision  of  language  became 
under  that  discipline  very  speedily  a  lost  art. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  writings  of  that  period  are 
serviceable  to  us,  chiefly,  as  showing  what  can,  and 
what  cannot,  be  effected  by  common -sense  thinking  in 
theology.  It  is  of  little  consequence  to  inquire, 
whether  or  not  the  objections  of  the  Deists  and  the 


296     Tendencies  of  Religious  TliougM  in  England, 

Socinians  were  removed  by  the  answers  brought  to 
meet  them.  Perhaps,  on  the  whole,  we  might  be 
borne  out  in  saying  that  the  defence  is  at  least  as 
good  as  the  attack ;  and  so,  that  even  on  the  ground 
of  common  reason,  the  Christian  evidences  may  be 
arranged  in  such  a  way  as  to  balance  the  common- 
sense  improbability  of  the  supernatural — that  '  there 
are  three  chances  to  one  for  revelation,  and  only  two 
against  it.'  {Tracts  for  the  Times,  No.  85.)  Had  not 
_^^ circumstances  given  a  new  direction  to  religious 
interests,  the  Deistical  controversy  might  have  gone 
on  indefinitely,  and  the  amoeba^an  strain  of  objection 
and  reply,  '  et  cantare  pares  et  respondere  parati' — have 
been  prolonged  to  this  day  without  any  other  result. 
But  that  result  forces  on  the  mind  the  suggestion  that 
either  religious  faith  has  no  existence,  or  that  it  must 
be  to  be  reached  by  some  other  road  than  that  of  the 
'  trial  of  the  witnesses.'  It^js  a  reductio  ad  absurdum 
of  common-sense  j)hilosophy,  of  home-baked  theology, 
when  we  find  that  the  result  of  the  whole  is  that  'it 
is  safer  to  believe  in  a  God,  lest^  if  there  should 
liappen  to  be  one,  he  might  send  us  to  hell  for  deny- 
ing his  existence.'  (Maurice,  Essays,  p.  236.)  If  a 
religion  be  wanted  which  shall  debase  instead  of  ele- 
vating, this  should  be  its  creed.  If  the  religious 
history  of  the  i8tli  century  proves  anything  it  is 
this : — That  good  sense,  the  best  good  sense,  when 
it  sets  to  work  with  the  materials  of  human  nature  and 
Scripture  to  construct  a  religion,  will  find  its  way  to 
an  ethical  code,  irreproachable  in  its  contents,  and 
based  on  a  just  estimate  and  wise  observation  of  the 
facts  of  life,  ratified  by  Divine  sanctions  in  the  shape 
of  hope  and  fear,  of  future  rewards  and  penalties  of 
obedience  and  disobedience.  This  the  18th  cen- 
,  tury  did  and  did  well.  It  has  enforced  the  truths 
#  of  natural  morality  with  a  solidity  of  argument  and 
'■  variety  of  proof  which  they  have  not  received  since 
the  Stoical  epoch,  if  then.    But  there  its  ability  ended. 


i6S8— 1750.  297 

A^Hien  it  came  to  tlie  supernatural  part  of  Cliristianity 
its   embarrassment  Logan.     It  was  forced  to  keep  it 
as  much  in  the   background   as  possible,  or  to  bolster 
it  up  by  lame  and  inadequate  reasonings.     The  philo- 
sophy of  common-sense   had  done  its  own  work  ;  it 
attempted  more  only  to  show,  by  its  failure,  that  some 
higher  orranon  was  needed  for  the  establishment  of 
supernatural   truth.      The    career   of   the    evidential 
school,  its  success  and  failure, — its  success  in  vindi-  -^ 
eating  the  ethical  part  of  Christianity  and  the  regula- 
tive aspect  of  revealed  truth,  its  failure  in  establishing    \ 
the  supernatural  and  speculative  part — have  enriched  4'. 
the  history  of  doctrine  with  a  complete  refutation  of 
that  method  as  an  instrument  of  theological  investi- 
gation. 

This  judgment,  however,  must  not  be  left  unbalanced 
by  a  consideration  on  the  other  side.  It  will  hardly 
be  supposed  that  the  drift  of  what  has  been  said  is 
that  common-sense  is  out  of  place  in  religion,  or  in 
any  other  matter.  The  defect  of  the  i8th  century 
theology  was  not  in  having  too  much  good  sense, 
but  in  having  nothing  besides.  In  the  present  day 
when  a  godless  orthodoxy  threatens,  as  in  the  i5tli 
century,  to  extinguish  religious  thought  altogether, 
and  nothing  is  allowed  in  the  Church  of  England  but 
the  formulcie  of  past  thinkings,  which  have  long  lost 
all  sense  of  any  kind  ;  it  may  seem  out  of  season  to 
be  bringing  forward  a  misapplication  of  common-sense 
in  a  bygone  age.  There  are  times  and  circumstances 
when  religious  ideas  will  be  greatly  benefited  by  being 
submitted  to  tlie  rough  and  ready  tests  by  which  busy 
men  try  what  comes  in  their  way  ;  by  being  made  to 
stand  their  trial,  and  be  freely  canvassed,  coram  populo. 
As  poetry  is  not  for  the  critics,  so  religion  is  not  for 
the  theologians.  When  it  is  stiffened  into  phrases, 
and  these  phrases  are  declared  to  be  objects  of  reverence 
but  not  of  intelligence,  it  is  on  the  way  to  become  a 
useless  encumbrance,  the  rubbish  of  the  past,  blocking 


298     Tendencies  of  'Religious  Thought  in  England, 

the  road.  Theology  then  retires  into  the  position  it 
occupies  in  the  Church  of  Rome  at  present,  an  unmean- 
ing frostwork  of  dogma,  out  of  all  relation  to  the  actual 
history  of  man.  In  that  system,  theological  virtue 
is  an  artificial  life  quite  distinct  from  the  moral  virtues 
of  real  life.  '  Parmi  nous,'  says  E-emusat,  '  un  homme 
religieux  est  trop  souvent  un  homme  qui  se  croit 
entoure  d'ennemis,  qui  voit  avec  defiance  ou  scandale 
les  evenements  et  les  institutions  du  siecle,  qui  se  dcsole 
d'etre  ne  dans  les  jours  maudits,  et  qui  a  besoin  d'un 
grand  fond  de  bonte  innce  pour  empecher  ses  pieuses 
aversions  de  devenir  de  mortelles  haines.'  This 
system  is  equally  fatal  to  popular  morality  and  to 
religious  theory.  It  locks  up  virtue  in  the  cloister, 
and  theology  in  the  libraiy.  It  originates  caste 
sanctity,  and  a  traditional  philosophy.  The  ideal  of 
holiness  striven  after  may  once  have  been  lofty,  the 
philosophy  now  petrified  into  tradition  may  once  have 
been  a  vital  faith,  but  now  that  they  are  withdrawn 
from  public  life,  they  have  ceased  to  be  social  influ- 
ences. On  the  other  hand,  the  i8th  century  exhibits 
human  attainment  levelled  to  the  lowest  secular  model 
of  prudence  and  honesty,  but  still,  such  as  it  was, 
proposed  to  all  men  as  their  rule  of  life.  1Pra,ctical 
life  as  it  was,  was  the  theme  of  the  pulpit,  the  pre^ss^ 
and  the  drawing-room.  Its  theory  of  life  was  not 
lof1:y,  l)iit  it  was  true  as  far  as  it  went.  It  did  not 
substitute  a  factitious  phraseology,  the  pass-words  of 
the  modern  pulpit,  for  the  simple  facts  of  life,  but 
called  things  by  their  right  names.  '  Nullum  numen 
liabes  si  sit  prudentia'  was  its  motto,  not  denying  the 
'  nuraen,'  but  bringing  him  very  close  to  the  indivi- 
dual person,  as  his  '  moral  governor.'  The  prevailing 
philosophy  was  not  a  profound  metaphysic,  but  it  was 
a  soundly  based  arrangement  of  the  facts  of  society  ; 
it  was  not  a  scheme  of  the  sciences,  but  a  manual  for 
every-day  use.  Nothing  of  the  wild  spirit  of  imiversal 
negation  which  was  spread  over  the  Continent  fifty 


i68S— 1750.  299 

years  later  belonged  to  the  solid  rationalism  of  tliis 
period.  The  human  understanding-  wished  to  be 
satisfied,  and  did  not  care  to  believe  that  of  which  it 
could  not  see  the  substantial  ground.  The  reason 
was  coming  slowly  to  see  that  it  had  duties  which  it 
could  not  devolve  upon  others  ;  that  a  man  must  think 
for  himself,  protect  his  own  rights,  and  administer  his 
own  affairs.  The  reason  was  never  less  extravagant 
than  in  this  its  first  essay  of  its  strength.  Its  demands 
were  modest,  it  was  easily  satisfied  ;  far  too  easily,  we 
must  think,  when  we  look  at  some  of  the  reasonings 
which  passed  as  valid. 

The  habits  of  controversy  in  which  they  lived 
deceived  the  belligerents  themselves.  The  contro- 
versial  form  of  their  theology,  which  has  been  fatal  to 
its  credit  since,  was  no  less  detrimental  to  its  sound- 
ness at  the  time.  They  could  not  discern  the  line 
between  what  they  did,  and  what  they  could  not, 
prove.  The  polemical  temper  deforms  the  books  they 
have  written.  Literature  was  indeed  partially  refined 
from  the  coarser  scurrilities  with  which  the  Caroline 
divines,  a  century  before,  had  assailed  their  Romanist 
opponents.  But  there  is  still  an  air  of  vulgarity  about 
the  polite  writing  of  the  age,  which  the  divines  adopt 
along  with  its  style.  The  cassocked  divine  assumes 
the  airs  of  the  '  roaring  blade,'  and  ruffles  it  on  the 
mall  with  a  horsewhip  under  his  arm.  Warburton's 
stock  argument  is  a  threat  to  cudgel  any  one  who  dis- 
putes his  opinion.  All  that  can  be  said  is  that  this 
was  a  habit  of  treating  your  opponent  which  pervaded 
society.  At  a  much  later  period  Porson  complains, 
Tn  these  ticklish  times  .  .  .  talk  of  religion  it 
is  odds  but  you  have  infidel,  blasphemer,  atheist,  or 
schismatic,  thundered  in  your  ears ;  touch  upon 
politics,  you  will  be  in  luck  if  you  are  only  charged 
with  a  tendency  to  treason.  Nor  is  the  innocence  of 
your  intention  any  safeguard.     It  is  not  the  publication 


300     Tendencies  of  Jteligious  TIioii(/ht  in  En  (/land, 

that  shows  the  character  of  the  author,  but  the 
character  of  the  author  that  shows  the  tendency  of 
the  publication.'  (Luard's  '  Porson,'  Camh.  Essays, 
1857.)  A  license  of  party  vituperation  in  the  House 
of  Commons  existed,  from  the  time  of  the  opposition 
to  Walpole  onwards,  which  has  long  been  banished  by 
more  humane  manners.  '  The  men  who  took  a  fore- 
most part  seemed  to  be  intent  on  disparaging  each 
other,  and  proving  that  neither  possessed  any  quali- 
fication of  wisdom,  knowledge,  or  public  virtue. 
Epithets  of  reproach  were  lavished  personally  on  Lord 
North,  which  were  applicable  only  to  the  vilest  and 
most  contemptible  of  mankind.'  (Massey,  Hist,  of 
England,  ii.  218.) 

Were  this  blustering  language  a  blemish  of  stjde 
and  nothing  more,  it  would  taint  their  books  with 
vulgarity  as  literature,  but  it  would  not  vitiate  their 
matter.  But  the  fault  reaches  deeper  than  skin-deep. 
It  is  a  most  serious  drawback  on  the  good-sense  of  the 
age  that  it  wanted  justice  in  its  estimate  of  persons. 
They  were  no  more  capable  of  judging  their  friends 
than  their  foes.  In  Pope's  satire  there  is  no  medium; 
our  enemies  combine  all  the  odious  vices,  however 
incongruous  ;  our  friends  have  '  every  virtue  under 
heaven.'  AVe  hear  sometimes  of  Pope's  peculiar 
'  malignity.'  But  he  was  only  doing  what  every  one 
around  him  was  doing,  only  with  a  greatly  superior 
literary  skill.  Their  savage  invective  against  each 
other  is  not  a  morally  worse  feature  than  the  style  of 
fulsome  compliment  in  which  friends  address  each 
other.  The  private  correspondence  of  intimate  friends 
betraj^s  an  unwholesome  insincerity,  which  contrasts 
strangely  with  their  general  manliness  of  character. 
The  burly  intellect  of  Warburton  displays  an  appetite 
for  flattery  as  insatiable  as  that  of  Miss  Seward 
and  her  coterie. 

This  habit  of  exa£ff]['eratini>'  both  p-ood  and  evil  the 
divines  share  with  the  other  writers  of  the  time.     But 


i688 — 1750.  301 

tlieological  literature,  as  a  written  debate,  had  a  form 
of  malignant  impntation  peculiar  to  itself  This  is 
one  arising  out  of  the  rationalistic  fiction  which  both 
parties  assumed,  viz.,  that  their  respective  beliefs  were 
determined  by  an  impartial  inquiry  into  the  evidence. 
The  orthodox  writers  considered  this  evidence  so  clear 
and  certain  for  their  own  conclusions,  that  they  could 
account  for  its  not  seeming  so  to  others  only  by  the 
supposition  of  some  moral  obliquity  which  darkened 
the  undcrstandino'  in  such  cases.  Hence  the  obnoxious 
assumption  of  the  divines  that  the  Deists  were  men  of 
corrupt  morale,  and  the  retort  of  the  infidel  writers, 
that  i]\e  clergy  were  hired  advocates.  Moral  impu- 
tation, which  is  justly  banished  from  legal  argument, 
seems  to  find  a  proper  place  in  theological.  Those 
Christian  Ueists  who,  like  Toland  or  Collins,  ap- 
proached most  nearly  in  their  belief  to  Revelation, 
were  treated,  not  better,  but  worse,  by  the  orthodox 
champions  ;  their  larger  admissions  being  imputed  to 
disingenuousness  or  calculated  reserve.  This  stamp  of 
advocacy  which  was  impressed  on  English  theology  at 
the  Reformation — its  first  work  of  consideration  was 
an  '  Apology' — it  has  not  to  this  day  shaken  off.  Our 
theologians,  with  rare  exceptions,  do  not  penetrate 
below  the  surface  of  their  subject,  but  are  engaged  in 
defending  or  vindicating  it.  The  current  phrases  of  / 
'  the  bulwarks  of  our  faith,'  '  dangerous  to  Christianity,' 
are  but  instances  of  the  habitual  position  in  which  we 
assume  ourselves  to  stand.  Even  more  philosophic  i. 
minds  cannot  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  theo^'^^j  is 
polemical.  Theological  study  is  still  the  study  of 
topics  of  defence.  Even  Professor  Eraser  can  exhort  us 
'  that  by  the  study  of  these  topics  we  might  not  merely 
disarm  the  enemies  of  religion  of  what,  in  other  times 
has  been,  and  will  continue  to  be  a  favourite  weapon 
of  assault,  but  we  might  even  convert  that  weapon 
into  an  instrument  of  use  in  the  Christian  service.' 
{Essoj/s  in  Philosojjiii/,  p.  4.)     '  Modern  science,'  as  it 


302     Tendencies  of  Relipoiis  Thoucjld  in  England, 

is  called,  is  recommended  to  tlie  young  divine,  because 
in  it  he  may  find  means  of  *  confuting  infidelity.' 

A  little  consideration  will  show  that  the  grounds 
on  which  advocacy  before  a  legal  tribunal  rests,  make 
it  inappropriate  in  theological  reasoning.  It  is  not 
pretended  that  municipal  law  is  coextensive  with  uni- 
versal law,  and  therefore  incapable  of  admitting  right 
on  both  sides.  It  is  allowed  that  the  natural  right 
may  be,  at  times,  on  one  side,  and  the  legal  title 
on  the  other ;  not  to  mention  the  extreme  case  where 
'  communis  error  facit  jus.'  The  advocate  is  not  there 
to  supply  all  the  materials  out  of  which  the  judge  is 
to  form  his  decision,  but  only  one  side  of  the  case. 
He  is  the  mere  representative  of  his  client's  interests, 
and  has  not  to  discuss  the  abstract  merits  of  the 
juridical  point  which  may  be  involved.  He  does  not 
undertake  to  show  that  the  law  is  conformable  to  na- 
tural right,  but  to  establish  the  condition  of  his  client 
relatively  to  the  law.  But  the  rational  defender  of 
the  faith  has  no  place  in  his  system  for  the  variable, 
or  the  indifierent,  or  the  non-natural.  He  proceeds 
on  the  supposition  that  the  whole  system  of  the 
Church  is  the  one  and  exclusively  true  expression  of 
reason  upon  the  subject  on  which  it  legislates.  He 
claims  for  the  whole  of  received  knowledge  what  the 
jurist  claims  for  international  law,  to  be  a  universal 
science.  He  lays  before  us,  on  the  one  hand,  the  tra- 
ditional canon  or  symbol  of  doctrine.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  teaches  that  the  free  use  of  reason  upon  the 
facts  of  nature  and  Scripture  is  the  real  mode  by 
which  this  traditional  symbol  is  arrived  at.  To  show, 
then,  that  the  candid  pursuit  of  truth  leads  ever}^  im- 
partial intellect  to  the  Anglican  conclusion  was  the 
task  which,  on  their  theory  of  religious  proof,  their 
theology  had  to  undertake.  The  process,  accordingly, 
^  should  have  been  analogous  to  that  of  the  jurist  or 
\-  legislator  with  regard  to  the  internal  evidence,  and  to 
that  of  the  judge  with  regard  to  the  external  evidence. 


i68S— 1750.  303 

If  tlieological  argument  forg-ets  the  judge  and  assumes 
the  advocate,  or  betrays  the  least  bias  to  one  side,  the 
conclusion  is  valueless,  the  principle  of  free  inquiry 
has  been  violated.  Roman  Catholic  theologians  con- 
sistently enough  teach  that  '  apologetics '  make  no 
part  of  theolog}^  as  usually  conducted  by  way  of  reply 
to  special  objections  urged,  but  that  a  true  apologetic 
must  be  founded  (i)  on  a  discovery  of  the  general 
principle  from  which  the  attack  proceeds,  and  (2)  on 
the  exhibition,  per  contra,  of  that  general  ground- 
thought  of  which  the  single  Christian  truths  are  de- 
velopments. (Hageman,  Die  Aufgahe  der  Catholischcn 
Ajjolof/etik.) 

With  rare  exceptions  the  theology  of  the  Hanove- 
rian period  is  of  the  most  violently  partisan  character. 
It  seats  itself,  by  its  theory,  in  the  judicial  chair,  but 
it  is  only  to  comport  itself  there  like  Judge  Jefferies. 
One  of  the  favourite  books  of  the  time  was  Sherlock's 
Trial  of  the  JFitnesses.  First  published  in  1729,  it 
speedily  went  through  fourteen  editions.  It  con- 
cludes in  this  way : — 

'  Judge. — What  say  you?  Are  the  Apostles  guilty 
of  giving  false  evidence  in  the  case  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus,  or  not  guilty  ? 

'■Foreman. — Not  guilty. 

'  Judge. — Very  well ;  and  now,  gentlemen,  I  resign 
my  commission,  and  am  your  humble  servant.  The 
company  then  rose  up,  and  were  beginning  to  pay 
their  compliments  to  the  Judge  and  the  counsel, 
but  were  interrupted  by  a  gentleman,  who  went  up 
to  the  Judge  and  offered  him  a  fee.  'What  is  this?' 
says  the  Judge.  '  A  fee,  sir,'  said  the  gentleman. 
*  A  fee  to  a  judge  is  a  bribe,'  said  the  Judge.  '  True, 
sir,'  said  the  gentleman ;  '  but  you  have  resigned  your 
commission,  and  will  not  be  the  first  judge  who  has 
come  from  the  bench  to  the  bar  without  any  dimi- 
nution of  honour.  Now,  Lazarus's  case  is  to  come 
on  next,  and  this  fee  is  to  retain  3'ou  on  his  side.' 


304     Tendencies  of  Heligious  ThoufjU  in  England, 

One  might  say  tliat  the  apologists  of  that  day  had 
in  like  manner  left  the  bench  for  the  bar,  and  taken 
a  brief  for  the  Apostles.  They  are  impatient  at  the 
smallest  demur,  and  deny  loudly  that  there  is  any 
weight  in  anything  advanced  by  their  opponents. 
In  the  way  they  override  the  most  serious  difficulties, 
they  show  anything  but  the  temper  which  is  sup- 
posed to  qualify  for  the  weighing  of  evidence.  The 
astonishing  want  of  candour  in  their  reasoning,  their 
blindness  to  real  difficulty,  the  ill-concealed  predeter- 
mination to  find  a  particular  verdict,  the  rise  of  their 
style  in  passion  in  the  same  proportion  as  their  argu- 
ment fails  in  strength,  constitute  a  class  of  writers 
more  calculated  than  any  other  to  damage  their  own 
cause  with  young  ingenuous  minds,  bred  in  the  school 
of  Locke  to  believe  that  '  to  love  truth  for  truth's  sake 
is  the  principal  part  of  human  perfection  in  this  world, 
and  the  seed-plot  of  all  other  virtues.'  (Locke,  set.  73. 
Letter  to  Collins.)  Spalding  has  described  the  moral 
shock  his  faith  received  on  hearing  an  eminent 
clergyman  in  confidential  conversation  with  another, 
who  had  cited  some  powerful  argument  against  reve- 
lation, say,  '  That's  truly  awkward ;  let  us  consider  a 
little  how  we  get  out  of  that ;'  ivie  wir  uns  salviren. 
{Selbstbiographil^,  p.  J28.)  A  truthful  mind  is  a  much 
rarer  possession  than  is  commonly  supposed,  for '  it  is 
as  easy  to  close  the  eyes  of  the  mind  as  those  of  the 
body.'  (Butler,  Sermon  x.)  And  in  this  rarity  there 
is  a  natural  limit  to  the  injury  wliich  un candid  vin- 
dications of  revelation  can  cause.  To  whatever  causes 
is  to  be  attributed  the  decline  of  Deism,  from  1750 
onwards,  the  books  polemically  written  against  it  can- 
not reckon  among  them.  When  Casaubon  first  vi- 
sited Paris,  and  was  being  shown  over  the  Sorbonne, 
his  guide  said,  '  This  is  the  hall  in  which  the  doctors 
have  disputed  for  300  years.'  '  Aye !  and  what  have 
they  settled?'  was  his  remark. 

Some  exceptions,  doubtless,  there  are  to  the  incon- 


i688— 1750.  305 

clusiveness  of  tins  debate.     Here  again  the  eminent 
instance  is  the   Analogi/.      Butler,   it    is  true,   comes 
forward  not  asjan  investigator,  hut  as  a  jDleader.     But 
when  we  pass  from  his  inferior  brethren  to  this  great 
master  of  the  art,  we  find  ourselves  in  the  hands  of 
one  who  knows  the  laws  of  evidence,  and  carefully 
keeps  his  statements  within  them.     Butler  does  not, 
like   his  fellow  apologists,  disguise  the  fact  that  the 
evidence  is  no  stronger  than  it  is.     '  If  it  be  a  poor 
thing,'  to  argue  in  this  way,  '  the  epithet  yjoor  may  be 
applied,  I  fear,  as  properly  to  great  part,  or  the  whole, 
of    haman  life,   as   it  is    to   the  things   mentioned.' 
{Analogy,  Part  ii.  ch.   8.)     Archbishop  Whately,  de- 
fining the  temper  of  the  rational  theologian,  saj^s : — 
'  A  good  man  will,  indeed,  wish  to  find  the  evidence 
of  the  Christian  religion  satisfactory ;  but  a  wise  man 
will  not,  for  that  reason,  think  it  satisfactory,  but  will 
weigh  the  evidence  the  more  carefully  on  account  of 
the  importance  of  the  question.'     {Essays,  2nd  series, 
p.  24.)     This  character  Butler's  argument  exemplifies. 
We  can  feel,  as  we  read,  how  his  judgment  must  have 
been   offended  in  his  contemporaries  by  the  dispro- 
portion   between  the  positiveness  of   their  assertion 
and  the  feebleness  of  tlieir  argument.     Nor  should 
we  expect  that  Butler  satisfied  them.     They  thought 
him   '  a    little    too    little  vigorous,'  and  '  wished    he 
would  have  spoke  more  earnestly.'     (Byrom's  Journal, 
March,  1737.)     Men  who  believed  that  they  were  in 
possession  of  a  '  demonstration'  of  Christianity  were 
not  likely  to  be  satisfied  with  one  who  saw  so  strongly 
'  the  doubtfulness  in  which  things  were  involved'  that 
he  could  not  comprehend  '  men's  being  impatient  out 
of  action  or  vehement  in  it.'     {Unpublished  Eemains, 
^'c.)      Warburton,   who  has  a  proof  which  '  is  very- 
little  short  of  mathematical  certainty,  and  to  whicli 
nothing  but  a  mere  physical  possibility  of  the  contrary 
can  be  opposed'  {Divine  Leg.,  b.  i.   %    i),  was  the  man 
for  the  age,  which  did  not  care  to  stand  higgling  with 

X 


306      lendencies  of  HeligiouB  Thouglit  in  Erif/land, 

Butler  over  the  degrees  of  probability.  "What  couLl 
the  world  do  with  a  man  who  '  designed  the  search 
after  truth  as  the  business  of  my  life'  {Correspondence 
with  Dr.  Clarke),  and  who  was  so  little  prepared  to 
dogmatise  about  the^  future  world  that  he  rather  felt 
that  '  there  is  no  account  to  be  given  in  the  way  of 
reason  of  men's  so  strong  attachments  to  the  present 
world.'  {Sermon  vii.)  Butler's  doubtfulness,  however, 
it  should  be  remarked,  is  not  the  unsteadiness  of  the 
sceptical,  but  the  wariness  of  the  judicial  mind ;  a 
mind  determined  for  itself  by  its  own  instincts,  but 
careful  to  confine  its  statements  to  others  within  the 
evidence  produced  in  court.  The  Analogy  does  not 
depicture  an  inward  struggle  in  his  own  mind,  but  as 
'  he  told  a  friend,  his  way  of  writing  it  had  been  to 
endeavour  to  answer  as  he  went  along,  every  possible 
objection  that  might  occur  to  any  one  against  any 
position  of  his  in  his  book.'  (Bartlett's  Life  of  Butler, 
p.  50.)  He  does  not  doubt  himself,  but  he  sees,  what 
others  do  not  see,  the  difficulty  of  proving  religion  to 
others.  There  is  a  saying  of  Pitt  circulating  to  the 
effect  that  the  Analocjy  is  '  a  dangerous  book  ;  it  raises 
more  doubts  than  it  solves.'  All  that  is  true  in  this 
is,  that  to  a  mind  which  has  never  nourished  objections 
to  revelation  a  book  of  evidences  may  be  the  means  of 
first  suggesting  them.  But  in  1736  the  objections 
were  everywhere  current,  and  the  answers  to  them 
were  mostly  of  that  truly  '  dangerous'  sort  in  which 
assertion  runs  ahead  of  proof.  The  merit  of  Butler 
lies  not  in  the  '  irrefragable  £roof,' which  South ey's 
epit:i})h  attributes  to  his  construction,  but  in  his 
showing  the  nature  of  the  proof,  and  daring  to  admit 
that  it  was  less  than  certain  ;  to  own  that '  a  man  msy 
be  fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  a  matter  and  upon 
the  strongest  reasons,  and  yet  not  be  able  to  answer 
all  the  difficulties  which  may  be  raised  upon  it.' 
{Durham  Charge,  1751.) 

Another,    perhaps    the    only    other,  book  of   this 


— 1750.  307 

polemical  tribe  wliicli  can  be  said  to  have  been  com- 
pletely successful  as  an  answer,  is  one  most  unlike  the 
AnaJofjij  in  all  its  nobler  features.  This  is  Bentley's 
Remarks  upon  a  late  Discourse  of  FreetJiinhing,  by 
P/iUelentherus  Lipsiensis,  17 13.  Coarse,  arrogant,  and 
abusive,  with  all  Bentley's  worst  faults  of  style  and 
temper,  this  masterly  critique  is  decisive.  Not,  of 
course,  of  the  Deistical  controversy,  on  which  the  critic 
avoids  entering.  The  Discourse  of  Freethinking  was  a 
small  tract  published  in  17 13 -by  Anthony  Collins. 
Collins  was  a  gentleman  of  independent  fortune,  whose 
high  personal  character  and  general  respectability 
seemed  to  give  a  weight  to  his  words,  which  assuredly 
they  do  not  carry  of  themselves.  By  '  freethinking,' 
he  means  liberty  of  thought — the  right  of  bringing 
all  received  opinions  whatsoever  to  the  touchstone  of 
reason.  Among  the  grounds  or  authorities  by  which 
he  supports  this  natural  right,  Collins  unluckily  had 
recourse  to  history,  and  largely,  of  course,  to  the  pre- 
cedent of  the  Greek  philosophers.  Collins,  who  had 
been  bred  at  Eton  and  King's,  was  probably  no  worse 
a  scholar  than  his  contemporary  Ivingsmen,  and  the 
range  of  his  reading  was  that  of  a  man  who  had 
made  the  classics  the  companions  of  his  maturer  years. 
But  that  scholarship  which  can  supply  a  quotation 
from  Lucan,  or  jflavour  the  style  with  an  occasional 
allusion  to  Tully  or  Seneca,  is  quite  incompetent  to 
apply  Greek  or  Eoman  precedent  properly  to  a  modern 
case.  Addison,  the  pride  of  Oxford,  had  done  no 
better.  In  his  Essays  on  the  Emdences  of  Christiainfy, 
Addison  '  assigns  as  grounds  for  his  religious  belief, 
stories  as  absurd  as  that  of  the  Cocklane  ghost,  and 
forgeries  as  rank  as  Ireland's  Vortiyern,  puts  faith  in 
the  lie  about  the  thundering  legion,  is  convinced  tluit 
Tiberius  moved  the  Senate  to  admit  Jesus  among  the 
gods,  and  pronounces  the  letter  of  Agbarus,  King  of 
Edessa,  to  be  a  record  of  great  authority.'  (Macaulay  : 
Essays.)      But  the   public   was    quite  satisfied    with 

X  2 


308     Tendencies  of  ReU(/ious  Tltougld  in  England, 

Addison's  citations,  in  wliicli  a  public,  which  had 
given  the  victory  to  Boyle  in  the  Plialaris  controversy, 
could  hardly  suspect  anything  wrong.  Collins  was 
not  to  escape  so  easily.  The  Freethinker  flounders 
hopelessly  among  the  authorities  he  has  invoked. 
Like  the  necromancer's  apprentice,  he  is  worried  by 
the  fiends  he  has  summoned  but  cannot  lay,  and 
Bentley,  on  whose  nod  they  wait,  is  there  like  another 
Cornelius  Agrippa  hounding  them  on  and  enjoying 
the  sport.  Collins's  mistakes,  mistranslations,  miscon- 
ceptions, and  distortions  are  so  monstrous,  that  it  is 
difficult  for  us  now,  forgetful  how  low  classical  learning 
had  sunk,  to  believe  that  they  are  mistakes,  and  not 
wilful  errors.  It  is  rare  sport  to  Bentley,  this  rat- 
hunting  in  an  old  rick,  and  he  lays  about  him  in  high 
glee,  braining  an  authority  at  every  blow.  When  he 
left  off'  abruptly,  in  the  middle  of  a  '  Third  Part,'  it 
was  not  because  he  was  satiated  with  slaughter,  but 
to  substitute  a  new  excitement,  no  less  congenial  to 
his  temper — a  quarrel  with  the  University  about  his 
fees.  A  grace,  voted  17 15,  tendering  him  the  public 
thanks  of  the  University,  and  '  praying  him  in  the 
name  of  the  University  to  finish  what  remains  of  so 
useful  a  work,'  could  not  induce  him  to  resume  his 
pen.  The  Remarks  of  Phileleiifheriis  Lipsiensis,  un- 
finished though  they  are,  and  trifling  as  was  the  book 
which  gave  occasion  to  them,  are  perhaps  the  best  of 
all  Bentley 's  performances.  They  have  all  the  merits 
of  the  Phalaris  dissertation,  with  the  advantage  of  a 
far  nobler  subject.  They  show  how  Bentley's  exact 
appreciation  of  the  value  of  terms  could,  when  he 
chose  to  apply  it  to  that  purpose,  serve  him  as  a  key 
to  the  philosophical  ideas  of  past  times,  no  less  than 
to  those  of  poetical  metaphor.  The  tone  of  the 
pamphlet  is  most  offensive,  '  not  only  not  insipid,  but 
exceedingly  bad-tasted.'  We  can  only  say  the  taste 
is  that  of  his  age,  while  the  knowledge  is  all  his  own. 
It  was  fair  to  show  that  his  antagonist  undertook  '  to 


i688— 1750.  309 

interpret  the  Prophets  and  Solomon  without  Hebrew; 
Plutarch  and  Zosimus  (Collins  spells  it  Zozimus) 
without  Greek  ;  and  Cicero  and  Lucan  without  Latin.' 
{Bemarks,  Part  i.  No.  3.)  But  the  dirt  endeavoured 
to  be  thrown  on  Collins  will  cleave  to  the  hand  that 
throws  it.  It  may  be  worth  mention  that  this  tract  of 
Bentley  contains  the  original  of  Sydney  Smith's  cele- 
brated defence  of  the  'prizes'  in  the  Church.  The  pas- 
sage is  a  favourable  specimen  of  the  moral  level  of  a 
polemic  who  was  accusing  his  opponent  of  holding 
'  opinions  the  most  abject  and  base  that  human  nature 
is  capable  of.'     (Letter  prefixed  to  Remarks.) 

'  He  can  never  conceive  or  wish  a  priesthood  either 
quieter  for  him,  or  cheaper,  than  that  of  the  present 
Church  of  England.  Of  your  quietness  himself  is  a 
convincing  proof,  who  has  writ  this  outrageous  book, 
and  has  met  with  no  punishment  nor  prosecution. 
And  for  the  cheapness,  that  appeared  lately  in  one  of 
your  parliaments,  when  the  accounts  exhibited  showed 
that  5000  of  your  clergy,  the  greaier  part  of  your 
whole  number,  had,  at  a  middle  rate  one  with  another, 
not  50  pounds  a  year.  A  poor  emolument  for  so  long, 
so  laborious,  so  expensive  an  education,  as  must  qualify 
them  for  holy  orders.  AVlide  I  resided  at  Oxford,  and 
saw  such  a  conflux  of  youth  to  their  annual  admis- 
sions, I  have  often  studied  and  admired  why  their 
parents  would,  under  such  mean  encouragements, 
design  their  sons  for  the  church ;  and  those  the  most 
towardly  and  capable,  and  select  geniuses  among  their 
children,  who  must  needs  have  emerged  in  a  secular 
life.  I  congratulated,  indeed,  the  felicity  of  ^^our 
establishment,  which  attracted  the  choice  youth  of 
your  nation  for  such  very  low  pay ;  but  my  wonder 
was  at  the  parents,  who  generally  have  interest,  main- 
tenance and  wealth,  the  first  thing  in  their  view,  till 
at  last  one  of  your  state-lotteries  ceased  my  astonish- 
ment. For  as  in  that,  a  few  glittering  prizes,  i,cco, 
5,coo,    ]  0,000    pounds    among  an   infinity  of  blanks. 


310     Tc7idencics  of  Religious  Thouglit  in  EngJcmd, 

drew  troops  of  adventurers,  who  if  the  whole  fund 
had  been  equally  ticketted,  would  never  have  come 
in ;  so  a  few  shining  dignities  in  your  church,  pre- 
bends, deaneries,  bishopricks,  are  the  pious  fraud  that 
induces  and  decoys  the  parents  to  risk  their  child's 
fortune  in  it.  Everyone  hopes  his  own  will  get  some 
prize  in  the  church,  and  never  reflects  on  the  thou- 
sands of  blanks  in  poor  country  livings.  And  if  a 
foreigner  may  tell  you  his  mind,  from  what  he  sees 
at  home,  'tis  this  part  of  your  establishment  that  makes 
your  clergy  excel  ours  \i.e.,  in  Germany,  from  which 
Phileleut/ienis  Lijjsiensis  is  supposed  to  write].  Do  but 
once  level  all  your  preferments,  and  you'll  soon  be  as 
level  in  your  learning.  For,  instead  of  the  flower  of 
the  English  youth,  you'll  have  only  the  refuse  sent  to 
your  academies,  and  those,  too,  cramped  and  crippled 
in  their  studies,  for  want  of  aim  and  emulation.  So 
that,  if  your  Freethinkers  had  any  politics,  instead  of 
suppressing  your  whole  order,  they  should  make  you 
all  alike  ;  or  if  that  cannot  be  done,  make  your  prefer- 
ments a  very  lottery  in  the  whole  similitude.  Let 
your  church  dio^nities  be  pure  chance  prizes,  without 
regard  to  abilities,  or  morals,  or  letters.'  {Remarks, 
8fc.,  Part  ii.  §  40.) 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  Bentley  does  not  attempt 
to  reply  to  the  argument  of  the  Discourse  on  Free- 
thinking.  His  tactic  is  to  ignore  it,  and  to  assume 
that  it  is  only  meant  as  a  covert  attack  on  Christianity  ; 
that  Collins  is  an  Atheist  fighting  under  the  disguise 
of  a  Deist.  Some  excuse,  perhaps,  may  be  made  for  a 
man  nourished  on  pedagogic  latin,  and  accustomed  to 
launch  furious  sarcasm  at  any  opponent  who  betrayed 
a  brutal  ignorance  of  the  diflerence  between  '  ac '  and 
*  et.'  ^  But  Collins  was  not  a  sharper,  and  would  have 
disdained  practices  to  which  Bentley  stooped  for  the 
sake  of  a  professorship.  When  Bentley,  in  the  pride 
of  academic  dignity,  could  thus  browbeat  a  person  of 
Collins's  consideration,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that 


i688— J750.  311 

the  inferior  fry  of  Deistical  writers, — Toland,  a  writer 
for  the  press  ;  Tinclal,  a  fellow  of  a  college  ;  or  Clrabb. 
a  journeyman  glover — met  with  fairer  treatment  from 
their  opponents.  The  only  exception  to  this  is  the 
case  of  Shaftesbury,  to  whom,  as  well  after  his  death 
as  in  his  lifetime,  his  privileges  as  a  peer  seem  to  have 
secured  immunity  from  hangman's  usage.  He  is 
simply  '  a  late  noble  author.'  Nor  was  this  respect 
inspired  by  the  Earl's  profession  of  Christianity.  He 
does,  indeed,  make  this  profession  with  the  utmost 
unreserve.  He  asserts  his  '  steady  orthodoxy,'  and 
'  entire  submission  to  the  truly  Christian  and  Catholic 
doctrines  of  our  holy  Church,  as  by  law  established,' 
and  that  he  holds  '  the  mysteries  of  our  religion  even 
in  the  minutest  particulars.'  {Characteristicks,Yo\.\\\. 
p.  315.)  But  this  outward  profession  would  only  have 
brought  down  upon  any  other  writer  an  aggravated 
charge  of  cowardly  malice  and  concealment  of  Atheism. 
If  Shaftesbury  was  spared  on  account  of  his  rank,  the 
orthodox  writers  were  not  altogether  wrong  in  fasten- 
ing upon  this  disingenuousness  as  a  moral  charac- 
teristic of  their  antagonists.  The  excuse  for  this  want 
of  manliness  in  men  who  please  themselves  with  in- 
sinuating unpopular  opinions  which  they  dare  not 
advocate  openly,  is  that  it  is  an  injustice  perpetrated  by 
those  who  have  public  feeling  on  their  side.  '  They 
make,'  says  Mr.  Tayler,  'the  honest  expression  of 
opinion  penal,  and  then  condemn  men  for  disingenu- 
ousness. They  invite  to  free  discussion,  but  deter- 
mine beforehand  that  only  one  conclusion  can  be  sound 
and  moral.  They  fill  the  arena  of  public  debate  with 
every  instrument  of  torture  and  annoyance  for  the 
feeling  heart,  the  sensitive  imagination,  and  the  scru- 
pulous intellect,  and  then  are  angry  that  men  do  not 
rush  headlong  into  the  martyrdom  that  has  been  pre- 
pared for  them.'     {Relic/ious  Life  of  England,  p.  282.) 

In  days  when  the  pillory  was  the  punishment  for 
common  libel,  it  cannot  be  thought  much  that  heresy 


312     Tendencies  of  Reliyious  Thouglit  in  England, 

and  infidelity  should  be  punished  by  public  opprobrium. 
And  public  abhorrence  was  the  most  that  a  writer 
against  revelation  had  now  to  fear.  Mandeville's 
FahJe  of  the  Bees,  indeed,  was  presented  as  a  nuisance 
by  the  grand  jury  of  Middlesex,  in  1723,  as  were 
Bolingbroke's  collected  'Works'  in  1752,  and  Toland's 
Christianity  not  Mysterious,  in  1699.  We  find,  too,  that 
Toland  had  to  fly  from  Dublin,  and  Collins  to  go  out 
of  the  way  to  Holland,  for  fear  of  further  consequences. 
But  nothing  ever  came  of  these  presentments.  The 
only  prosecution  for  religious  libel  was  that  of  Wool- 
ston,  2  George  II.,  in  which  the  defendant,  who  was 
not  of  sound  mind,  provoked  and  even  compelled  the 
law  officers  of  the  crown  to  proceed  against  him, 
tliough  they  were  very  reluctant  to  do  so.  When 
thus  compelled  to  declare  the  law,  on  this  occasion, 
the  Lord  Chief  Justice  (Eaymond)  '  would  not  allow 
it  to  be  doubted  that  to  write  against  Christianity  in 
general  was  punishable  at  common  law.'  Yet  both 
then  and  since,  judges  and  prosecutors  have  shown 
themselves  shy  of  insisting  upon  the  naked  offence  of 
'  impugning  the  truth  of  Christianity.'  That  it  is  an 
offence  at  common  law,  independent  of  9  &  10  Wil- 
liam III.,  no  lawyer  will  deny.  But  an  instinctive  sense 
of  the  incompatibility  of  this  legal  doctrine  with  the 
fundamental  tenet  of  Protestant  rationalism  has  always 
served  to  keep  it  in  the  background.  '  The  judges 
seem  to  have  played  fast  and  loose  in  this  matter,  in 
such  sort  as  might  enable  the  future  judge  to  quote 
the  tolerant  or  the  intolerant  side  of  their  doctrine  as 
might  prove  convenient;  and  while  seemingly  dis- 
avowing all  interference  with  fair  discussion,  they 
still  kept  a  wary  hold  of  the  precedents  of  Hale  and 
Eaymond,  and  of  the  great  arcanum  of  'part  and 
parcel ;'  '  semianimesque  micant  digiti,  ferrumque 
retractant.'  {Considerations  on  the  Laio  of  Lifjel.  By 
John  Search,  1833.) 

Whatever  excuse  the  Deistical  writers  might  have 


i688— 1750.  313 

for  their  insidious  manner  of  writing,  it  is  more  to  tlie 
present  purpose  to  observe  that  we  may  draw  from  it 
the  conckision  that  public  op)inion  was  throughout  on 
the  side  of  the  defenders  of  Christianity.  It  might 
seeni"almost~  su]5erfluous  to  say  this,  were  it  not  that 
complaints  meet  us  on  every  side,  which  seem  to 
imply  the  very  contrary  ;  that  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Gregory,  '  the  doctrine  of  our  Church  is  exploded, 
and  our  holy  religion  become  onl}^  a  name  which  is 
everywhere  spoken  against.'  {Pre/,  to  Beveridge  s 
Private  Tltoughts^  1709.)  Thirty  years  later  Butler 
writes,  that  '  it  is  come  to  be  taken  for  granted  that 
Christianity  is  not  so  much  as  a  subject  of  inquiry  ; 
but  that  it  is  now,  at  length,  discovered  to  be  fictitious. 
Accordingly  they  treat  it  as  if  in  the  present  age  this 
were  an  agreed  point  among  all  people  of  discernment, 
and  nothing  remained  but  to  set  it  up  as  a  principal 
subject  of  mirth  and  ridicule,  as  it  were  by  way  of 
reprisals  for  its  having  so  long  interrupted  the  pleasures 
of  the  world.'  {Advertisement  to  Jnalo(/i/,  1736.)  JHpw- 
ever  a  loose  kind  of  Deism  might  be  the  tone  of 
iashionable  circles,  it  is  clear  that  distinct  disbelief 
of  Christianity  was  Ijy  no  means  the  general  state  of 
the  public  mind.  The  leaders  of  the  Low-church  and 
W  lug" party  were  quite  aware  of  this.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  universal  complaints  of  the  High-church  party 
of  the  prevalence  of  infidelity,  it  is  obvious  that  this 
mode  of  thinking  was  confined  to  a  very  small  section 
of  society.  The  Indejjendent  Whig  (May  4,  1720),  in 
the  middle  of  its  blustering  and  endeavours  to  terrify 
the  clergy  with  their  unpopularity,  is  obliged  to  admit 
that  'the  High-church  Popish  clergy  will  laugh  in 
their  sleeves  at  this  advice,  and  think  there  is  folly 
enough  yet  left  among  the  laity  to  support  their 
authority;  and  will  laugh  themselves,  and  rejoice  over 
the  ignorance  of  the  Universities,  the  stupidity  of  the 
drunken  squires,  the  panic  of  the  tender  sex,  and 
the  never-to-be- shaken  constancv  of  the  multitude/ 


314      Tendencies  of  Meligious  Thovgid  in  England^ 

A  still  better  evidence  is  the  confidence  and  success 
with  which  the  writers  on  the  side  of  Revelation 
appealed  to  the  popular  passions,  and  cowed  their 
Ueistical  opponents  into  the  use  of  that  indirect  and 
disingenuous  procedure  with  which  they  then  taunted 
them.  The  clerical  sphere  was  much  more  a  sphere 
by  itself  than  it  has  since  become.  Notwithstanding 
the  large  toleration  really  practised,  strict  professional 
etiquette  was  still  observed  in  the  Church  and  the 
Universities.  The  horizontal  hat,  the  starched  band, 
and  the  cassock,  were  still  worn  in  public,  and  certain 
proprieties  of  outward  manner  were  expected  from  '  the 
cloth,'  The  violation  of  these  proprieties  was  punished 
by  the  forfeiture  of  the  offender's  prospects  of  prefer- 
ment, a  point  on  which  the  most  extreme  sensitiveness 
existed.  In  the  Balguy  and  Waterland  set  an  oflScious 
spirit  of  delation  seems  to  have  flourished.  The 
general  habit  of  publicly  canvassing  religious  topics 
was  very  favourable  to  this  espionage ;  as,  at  the  Ee- 
formation,  the  Catholics  gathered  their  best  calumnies 
against  Luther  from  his  unreserved  '  table-talk.'  It 
was  not  difficult  to  draw  the  unhappy  Middleton 
into  '  unguarded  expressions'  (Van  Mildert,  Life  of 
Waterland,  p.  162)  ;  and  something  which  had  fallen 
from  Bundle  in  his  younger  days  was  used  against  him 
so  successfully  that  even  the  Talbot  interest  was  able 
to  procure  him  only  an  Irish  bishoprick.  Lord 
Chesterfield,  seeing  what  advantage  the  High-church 
party  derived  from  this  tactic,  endeavoured  to  turn  it 
against  them.  He  gives  a  circumstantial  account  of 
a  conversation  with  Pope,  which  would  tend  to  prove 
that  Atterbury  was,  nearly  all  his  life,  a  sceptic.  The 
thing  was  not  true,  as  Mr.  Carruthers  has  shown 
{^Life  of  Pope,  2nd  ed.  p.  213),  and  true  or  false,  the 
weapon  in  Chesterfield's  hands  was  pointless. 

Though  the  general  feeling  of  the  country  was 
sufficiently  decided  to  oblige  all  who  wished  to  write 
against  Christianity,  to  do   so  under  a  mask,  this  was 


1688—1750-  315 

not  the  case  witli  attacks  upon  the  Clergy.  Since  the 
days  of  the  Lollards  there  had  never  been  a  time 
when  the  established  ministers  of  religion  were  held 
in  so  much  contempt  as  in  the  Hanoverian  period,  or 
when  satire  upon  churchmen  was  so  congenial  to 
general  feeling.  This  too  was  the  more  extraordinary, 
as  there  was  no  feelin"-  ag-ainst  the  Church  Establish- 
ment,  nor  was  non-conformity  as  a  theory  ever  less  in 
favour.  The  contempt  was  for  the  persons,  manners, 
and  character  of  the  ecclesiastics.  When  Macaulay 
brought  out  his  portrait  of  the  clergyman  of  the 
revolution  period,  his  critics  endeavoured  to  show  that 
that  portrait  was  not  true  to  life.  They  seem  to  have 
brought  out  the  fact  that  it  was  pretty  fairly  true  to 
literature.  The  difficult  point  is  to  estimate  how  far 
the  satirical  and  popular  literature  of  any  age  may  be 
taken  as  representative  of  life.  Satire  to  be  popular 
must  exaggerate,  but  it  must  be  exaggeration  of  known 
and  recognised  facts.  Mr.  Churchill  Babington  [Cha- 
racter' of  the  Clergy,  cjr.,  considered,  p.  48)  sets  aside 
two  of  Macaulay's  authorities,  Oldham  and  T.  Wood, 
because  Oldham  was  an  Atheist  and  Wood  a  Deist. 
Admitting  that  an  Atheist  and  a  Deist  can  be  under  no 
obligation  to  truth,  yet  a  satirist,  who  intends  to  be 
read,  is  under  the  most  inevitable  engagement  to  the 
probable.  Satire  does  not  create  the  sentiment  to 
which  it  appeals.  A  portrait  of  the  country  parson 
temp.  George  the  Second  which  should  be  drawn 
verbatim  from  the  pamphlets  of  the  day  would  be  no 
more  historical,  than  is  that  portrait  of  the  begging 
friar  of  the  16th  century  which  our  historians  repeat 
after  Erasmus  and  the  EpistolcB  Obscurorum  Virorum. 
History  may  be  extracted  from  them,  but  these  carica- 
tures are  not  themselves  history. 

One  inference  which  we  may  safely  draw  is  that  public 
feeling  encouraged  such  representations.  It  is  a  symp- 
tom of  the  religious  temper  of  the  times,  that  the  same 
public  which  compelled  the  Deist  to  wear  the'm'as^k~of 


31 G     Tendencies  of  Heligious  Thought  in  England, 

'  solemn  sneer'  in  his  assaults  upon  Christian  doctrine, 
required  no  such  disguise  or  reserve  when  the  ministers 
of  the  Church  were  spoken  of.  Nor  does  the  evidence 
consist  in  a  few  stray  extracts  from  here  and  there  a  Deist 
or  a  cynic,  it  is  the  tone  of  all  the  popuhir  writers  of 
tliat  time.  The  unedifying  lives  of  the  clergy  are  a 
standard  theme  of  sarcasm,  and  continue  to  be  so  till 
a  late  period  in  the  century,  when  a  gradual  change 
may  be  observed  in  the  language  of  literature.  This 
antipathy  to  the  clergy  visible  in  the  Hanoverian 
period,  admits  of  comparison  with  that  vein  which 
colours  the  popular  songs  of  the  AVickliflfite  era.  In 
the  15th  century,  the  satire  is  not  indiscriminate. 
It  is  against  the  monks  and  friars,  the  bishops  and 
cardinals,  as  distinct  from  the  '  poor  persoun  of  atoun.' 
Its  point  against  the  organized  hypocrisy  of  the  Papal 
Churchmen  is  given  it  by  the  picture  of  the  ideal 
minister  of  '  Christe's  Gospel'  which  always  accom- 
panies the  burlesque.  In  the  i8th  century  the 
license  of  satire  goes  much  beyond  this.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  century  we  find  clerical  satire  observing  to 
some  extent  a  similar  discrimination.  The  Tory 
parson  is  libelled  always  with  an  ostentatious  reserve 
of  commendation  for  the  more  enlightened  and  liberal 
Hanoverian,  the  staunch  maintainer  of  the  Protestant 
succession.  This  is  the  tone  of  the  Independent  Whig, 
one  of  the  numerous  weekly  sheets  called  into  being 
in  imitation  of  the  Tatler.  It  was  started  in  1720, 
taking  for  its  exclusive  theme  the  Clergy,  whom  it  was 
its  avowed  object  to  abuse.  A  paper  came  out  every 
Wednesday.  It  was  not  a  newspaper,  and  does  not 
deal  in  libel  or  personalities,  hardly  ever  mentioning 
a  name,  very  rarely  quoting  a  fact,  but  dilating  in  ge- 
neral terms  upon  clerical  ignorance  and  bigotry.  This 
dull  and  worthless  trash  not  onl}^  had  a  considerable 
circulation  at  the  time,  but  w^as  reprinted,  and  passed 
through  several  editions  in  a  collected  form.  The 
Bishops  talked  of  prohibiting  it,but,onsecond  thoughts, 


j6S8— 1750.  317 

acted  more  wisely  in  taking  no  notice  of  it.  The  only 
part  of  the  kingdom  into  which  it  could  not  find 
entrance  was  the  Isle  of  Man,  where  the  saintly 
Wilson  combined  with  apostolic  virtues  much  of  the 
old  episcopal  claims  over  the  consciences  of  his  flock. 
The  LuJcpendent  Whig,  though  manifestly  written  by 
a  man  of  no  religion,  yet  finds  it  necessary  to  keep  up 
the  appearance  of  encouraging  the  '  better  sort'  of 
clergy,  and  affecting  to  despise  only  the  political 
priests,  the  meddling  chaplain,  the  preferment-hunter, 
the  toper,  who  is  notable  at  bowls,  and  dexterous  at 
whisk. 

As  we  advance  towards  the  middle  of  the  century, 
and  the  French  influence  begins  to  mingle  with  pure 
English  Deism,  the  spirit  of  contemj^t^preads  till  it 
involves  all  priests  of  alf  felTgioiis.  The  language 
now  is,  '  The  established  clergy  in  every  country  are 
generally  the  greatest  enemies  to  all  kinds  of  refor- 
mation, as  they  are  generally  the  most  narrow-minded 
and  most  worthless  set  of  men  in  every  country.  For- 
tunately for  the  present  times,  the  wings  of  clerical 
power  and  influence  are  pretty  close  trimmed,  so  that 
I  do  not  think  their  opposition  to  the  proposed  re- 
formations could  be  of  any  great  consequence,  more  of 
the  people  being  inclined  to  despise  them,  than  to 
follow  them  blindly.'  (Burgh,  Political  Disquisitio?is, 
1774.)  It  was  no  longer  for  their  vices  that  the 
clergy  were  reviled,  for  the  philosopher  now  had  come 
to  understand  that '  their  virtues  were  more  dangerous' 
to  society.  Strictness  of  life  did  but  increase  the  dislike 
with  which  the  clergyman  was  regarded  ;  his  morality 
was  but  double-dyed  hypocrisy ;  religious  language 
from  his  mouth  was  methodistical  cant.  Nor  did  the 
orthodox  attempt  to  struggle  with  this  sentiment. 
They  yielded  to  it,  and  adopted  for  their  maxim  of 
conduct,  '  surtout  point  de  zele.'  Their  sermons  and 
pamphlets  were  now  directed  against  '  Enthusiasm,' 
which  became   the   bugbear   of    that   time.      Every 


318     Tendencies  of  Heligioiis  Thougld  in  England, 

clergyman,  who  wished  to  retain  any  influence  over 
the  minds  of  his  parishioners,  was  anxious  to  vindi- 
cate himself  from  all  suspicion  of  enthusiasm.  When 
lie  had  set  himself  right  in  this  respect,  he  endea- 
voured to  do  the  same  good  office  for  the  Apostles. 
But  if  he  were  not  an  '  enthusiast,'  he  was  an  '  im- 
postor.' For  every  clergyman  of  the  Church  had 
against  him  an  antecedent  presumption  as  a  '  priest.' 
It  was  now  well  understood,  by  all  enlightened  men, 
that  the  whole  sacerdotal  brood  were  but  a  set  of  im- 
postors, who  lived  by  deceiving  the  people,  and  who 
had  invented  religion  for  their  own  benefit.  Natural 
religion  needed  no  '  priests'  to  uphold  it ;  it  was 
obvious  to  every  understanding,  and  could  maintain 
itself  in  the  world  without  any  confraternity  sworn  to 
the  secret. 

Again  came  a  change.  As  the  Methodist  move- 
ment gradually  leavened  the  mass  beneath,  zeal  came 
again  into  credit.  The  old  Wickliffite,  or  Puritan, 
distinction  is  revived  between  the  '  Gospel  preachers' 
and  the  '  dumb  dogs.'  The  antipathy  to  priests  was 
no  longer  promiscuous.  Popular  indignation  was 
reserved  for  the  fox-hunter  and  the  pluralist ;  the 
Hophni-and-Phinehas  generation  ;  the  men,  who  are 
described  as  '  careless  of  dispensing  the  bread  of  life 
to  their  flocks,  preaching  a  carnal  and  soul-benumbing 
morality,  and  trafficking  in  the  souls  of  men  by  re- 
ceiving money  for  discharging  the  pastoral  office  in 
parishes  where  they  did  not  so  much  as  look  on  the 
faces  of  the  people  more  than  once  a  year.'  In  the 
well-known  satire  of  Cowper,  it  is  no  longer  irreligious 
mocking  at  sacred  things  under  pretence  of  a  virtuous 
indignation.  It  becomes  again  what  it  was  before 
the  Reformation — an  earnest  feeling,  a  religious  sen- 
timent, the  moral  sense  of  man ;  Huss  or  Savonarola 
appealing  to  the  written  morality  of  the  Gospel 
against  the  practical  immorality  consecrated  by  the 
Church. 


i688— 1750.  319 

Sometliins:  too  of  the  old  anti-liierarcliical  feelino" 
aC-!ompanies  this  revival  of  the  influence  of  the  in- 
kiior  clergy;  a  faint  reflection  of  the  bitter  hatred 
T\inv3h  the  Lollard  had  borne  to  Pope  and  Cardinal,  or 
tii:  Puritan  to  '  Prelacy.'  The  utility  of  the  episco- 
pal and  capitular  dignities  continued  to  be  questioned 
long  after  the  evangelical  parish  pastor  had  re-estab- 
lished himself  in  the  affections  of  his  flock,  and  1832 
saw  the  cathedrals  go  down  amid  the  general  appro- 
bation of  all  classes.  In  the  earlier  half  of  the  cen- 
tury the  reverse  was  the  case.  The  boorish  country 
parson  was  the  man  whose  order  was  despised  then,  and 
his  utility  questioned.  The  Freethinkers  themselves 
could  not  deny  that  the  bench  and  the  stalls  were 
graced  by  some  whose  wit,  reputation,  and  learning 
would  have  made  them  considerable  in  any  profession. 
The  higher  clergy  had  with  them  the  town  and  the 
court,  the  country  clergy  sided  with  the  squires.  The 
mass  of  the  clergy  were  not  in  sympathy,  either  politi- 
cally or  intellectually,  with  their  ecclesiastical  superiors. 
The  Tory  fox-hunter  in  the  Freeholder  (No.  22)  thinks 
*  the  neighbouring  shire  very  happy  for  having  scarce 
a  Presbyterian  in  it  except  the  Bishop ;'  while  Hickes 
'  thanks  Grod  that  the  main  body  of  the  clergy  are  in 
their  hearts  Jacobites.'  The  bishops  of  George  the 
Second  deserved  the  respect  they  met  with.  At  no 
period  in  the  history  of  our  Church  has  the  ecclesi- 
astical patronage  of  the  crown  been  better  directed 
than  while  it  was  secretly  dispensed  by  Queen  Caroline. 
For  a  Ijrief  period,  liberality  and  cultivation  of  mind 
were  passports  to  promotion  in  the  Church.  Nor 
were  politics  a  hindrance  ;  the  queen  earnestly  pressed 
an  English  see  upon  Bishop  Wilson.  The  corruption 
which  began  with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  (1746) 
gradually  deepened  in  the  subsequent  reign,  as  poli- 
tical orthodoxy  and  connexion  were  made  the  tests, 
and  the  borough-holders  divided  the  dignities  of  the 
Church  among  their  adherents. 


320     Tendencies  of  jReligious  ThoiifjlLt  in  England, 

Of  an  age  so  solid  and  practical  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  its  theology  and  metaphysics  would 
mount  into  the  more  remote  spheres  of  abstraction. 
Their  line  of  argument  was,  as  has  been  seen,  regulated 
b}'  the  necessity  they  laid  themselves  under  of  appeal- 
ing to  sound  sense  and  common  reason.  But  not  only 
was  their  treatment  of  their  topic  popular,  the  motive 
of  their  writings  was  an  immediate  practical  necessity. 
Bishops  and  deans  might  be  made  for  merit,  but  it 
was  not  mere  literary  merit,  classical  scliolarship,  or 
University  distinction.  The  Deistical  controversy  did 
not  _origiiiate,  like  some  other  controversies  which 
have  made  much  noise  in  their  time,  in  speculative 
fimcy^n  the  leisure  of  the  cloister,  or  the  college.  It 
had  a  living  practical  interest  in  its  complication  witli 
the  c|uestions  of  the  day.  The  endeavour  of  the 
moralists  and  divines  of  the  period  to  rationalize  re- 
ligion was  in  fact  an  effort  to  preserve  the  practical 
principles  of  moi-al  and  religious  conduct  for  society. 
It  was  not  an  academical  disputation,  or  a  contest  of 
wits  for  superiority,  but  a  life  and  death  struggle  of 
religious  and  moral  feeling  to  maintain  itself  What 
the}^  felt  they  had  to  contend  against  w^as  moral  de- 
pravity', and  not  theological  error;  they  wrote  less  in 
the  interest  of  truth  than  in  that  of  virtue.  A 
general  relaxation  of  manners,  in  all  classes  of  society, 
is  universally  affirmed  to  be  characteristic  of  that  time  ; 
and  theology  and  philosophy  applied  themselves  to  com- 
bat this.  A  striking  instance  of  this  is  Bishop  Berkeley, 
the  only  metaphysical  writer  of  the  time,  besides 
Locke,  who  has  maintained  a  veiy  high  name  in  phi- 
losophical history.  He  forms  a  solitary — it  might 
seem  a  singular — exception  to  what  has  been  said  of 
the  prosaic  and  unmetaphysical  character  of  this  mo- 
ralising age.  The  two  peculiar  metaphysical  notions 
which  are  connected  with  Berkeley's  name,  and  which, 
though  he  did  not  originate,  he  propounded  with  a 
novelty  and    distinctness    equal  to  originality,  have 


i688— 1750.  3.21 

always  ranked  as  being  on  the  extreme  verge  of  ra- 
tional speculation,  if  not  actually  within  the  region  of 
unfruitful  paradox  and  metaphj^sical  romance.  These 
two  memorable  speculations,  as  propounded  by  Berke- 
ley in  the  Alciphron,  come  before  us  not  as  a  Utopian 
dream,  or  an  ingenious  play  of  reason,  but  interwoven 
in  a  polemic  against  the  prevailing  unbelief.  They 
are  made  to  bend  to  a  most  practical  purpose,  and  are 
Berkeley's  contributions  to  the  Deistical  controversy. 
The  character  of  the  man,  too,  was  more  in  harmony 
with  the  plain  utilitarian  spirit  of  his  time  than  with 
his  own  refining  intellect.  He  was  not  a  closet- 
thinker,  like  his  master  Malebranche,  but  a  man  of 
the  world  and  of  society,  inquisitive  and  well  informed 
in  many  branches  of  practical  science.  Practical 
schemes,  social  and  philanthropic,  occupied  his  mind 
more  than  abstract  thinking.  In  pushing  the  received 
metaphysical  creed  to  its  paradoxical  consequences,  as 
much  as  in  prescribing  '  tar-water,'  he  was  thinking 
only  of  an  immediate  '  benefit  to  mankind.'  He  seems 
to  have  thought  nothing  of  his  argument  until  he  had 
brought  it  to  bear  on  the  practical  questions  of  the  da}  . 
Were  the  '  corruption  of  manners'  merely  the  com- 
plaint of  one  party  or  set  of  writers,  a  cry  of  factious 
Puritanism,  or  of  men  who  were  at  war  with  society, 
like  the  Conjuring  clergy,  or  of  a  few  isohitecl  indi- 
viduals of  superior  piety,  like  William  Law,  it  w^ould 
be  easily  explicable.  The  '  world'  at  all  times,  and  in 
all  countries,  can  be  described  with  truth  as  '  lying  in 
wickedness,'  and  the  rebuke  of  the  preacher  of  righte- 
ousness is  equally  needed  in  every  age.  There  cannot 
be  a  darker  picture  than  that  drawn  by  the  Fathers 
of  the  3rd  century  of  the  morals  of  the  Christians 
in  their  time.  (See  passages  in  Jewel's  Apology^  The 
rigorous  moralist,  heathen  or  Christian,  can  always 
point  in  sharp  contrast  the  vices  and  the  belief  of 
mankind.  But,  after  making  every  allowance  for  the 
exaggeration  of  religious  rhetoric,  and  the  querulous- 

T 


322      Tendencies  of  HeJiglous  Thougld  in  England, 

ness  of  defeated  parties,  there  seems  to  remain  some 
real  evidence  for  ascribing  to  that  age  a  more  than 
usual  moral  licence  and  contempt  of  external  restraints. 
It  is  the  concurrent  testimony  of  men  of  all  parties,  it  is 
the  general  strain  of  the  most  sensible  and  worldly 
divines,  prosperous  men  who  lived  with  this  very  world 
the}^  censure,  men  whose  code  of  morals  was  not  large, 
nor  their  standard  exacting.  To  attempt  the  inquiry 
what  specific  evils  were  meant  by  the  general  expres- 
sions '  decay  of  religion'  and  '  corruption  of  manners,' 
— the  stereotype  phrases  of  the  time — is  not  within  the 
limits  of  this  paper.  No  historian,  as  far  as  I  am 
aware,  has  attemj)ted  this  examination ;  all  have  been 
content  to  render,  without  valuation,  the  charges  as 
they  find  them.  I  shall  content  myself  with  producing 
here  one  statement  of  contemporary  opinion  on  this 
point ;  for  which  purpose  I  select  a  layman,  David 
Hartley.     [Observations  on  Man,  vol.  ii.  p.  441.) 

'  There  are  six  things  which  seem  more  especially 
to  threaten  ruin  and  dissolution  to  the  present  States 
of  Christendom. 

*  ist.  The  great  growth  of  atheism  and  infidelity, 
•particularly  amongst  the  governing  parts  of  these 
States. 

*  2nd.  The  open  and  abiindoned  lewdness  to  which 
great  numbers  of  both  sexes,  especially  in  the  high 
ranks  of  life,  have  given  themselves  up. 

'  3rd.  The  sordid  and  avowed  self-interest,  which  is 
almost  the  sole  motive  of  action  in  those  who  are 
concerned  in  the  administration  of  public  afiairs. 

'  4th.  The  licentiousness  and  contempt  of  every 
kind  of  authority,  divine  or  human,  which  is  so  noto- 
rious in  inferiors  of  all  ranks. 

'  5th.  The  great  worldly-mindedness  of  the  clergy, 
and  their  gross  neglect  in  the  discharge  of  their  proper 
functions. 

'  6th.  The  carelessness  and  infatuation  of  parents 
and   magistrates    with   respect    to  the    education  of 


1688—1750.  323 

3^ontli,  and  the  consequent  en.vly  corruption  of  the 
rising  generation. 

'  All  these  things  have  evident  mutual  connexions 
and  influences  ;  and  as  they  all  seem  likely  to  increase 
from  time  to  time,  so  it  can  scarce  be  doubted  by  a 
considerate  man,  whether  he  be  a  religious  one  or  no, 
but  that  they  will,  sooner  or  later,  bring  on  a  total  dis- 
solution of  all  the  forms  of  government  that  subsist 
at  present  in  the  Christian  countries  of  Europe.' 

Though  there  is  entire  unanimity  as  to  the  fact 
of  the  prevailing  corruption,  there  is  the  greatest 
diversity  of  opinion  as  to  its  cause.  Each  party  is 
found  in  turn  attributing  it  to  the  neglect  or  disbelief 
of  the  abstract  propositions  in  which  its  own  particular 
creed  is  expressed.  The  Nonjurors  and  Higli- 
Oliurchmen  attribute  it  to  the  Toleration  Act  and  the 
latitudinarianism  allowed  in  high  places.  One  of  the 
very  popular  pamphlets  of  the  year  1721  was  a  fast- 
sermon  preached  before  the  Lord  Mayor  by  Edmund 
Massey,  in  which  he  enumerates  the  evils  of  the  time, 
and  affirms  that  they  '  are  justly  chargeable  upon 
the  corrupt  explication  of  those  words  of  our  Sa- 
viour, '  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world' — i.e.,  upon 
Hoadly's  celebrated  sermon.  The  latitudinarian  clergy 
divide  the  blame  between  the  Freethinkers  and  the 
Nonjurors.  The  Freethinkers  point  to  the  hypocrisy 
of  the  Clergy,  who,  they  say,  lost  all  credit  with  the 
people  by  having  preached  '  passive  obedience'  up  to 
J 688,  and  then  suddenly  finding  out  that  it  was  not  a 
scriptural  truth.  The  Nonconformists  lay  it  to  the 
enforcement  of  conformity  and  unscriptui-al  terms  of 
communion ;  while  the  Catholics  rejoice  to  see  in  it 
che  Protestant  Reformation  at  last  bearing  its  natural 
fruit.  Warburton  characteristically  attributes  it  to 
the  bestowal  of  *  preferment'  by  the  Walpole  adminis- 
tration. (Dedication  to  Lord  Mansfield,  IForks,  ii.  268.) 
The  power  of  preferment  Avas  not  under-estimated 
then.     George  II.   maintained  to  the  last  that  the 

Y  2 


3:24     Tendencies  of  Beligious  Thought  in  England, 

growth  of  Methodism  was  entirely  owing  to  ministers 
not  having  listened  to  his  advice,  and  '  made  White- 
field  a  bishop.'  Lastly,  that  every  one  may  have 
his  say,  a  professor  of  moral  philosophy  in  our  day 
is  found  attributing  the  same  facts  to  the  prevalence 
of  '  that  low  view  of  morality  which  rests  its  rules 
upon  consequences  merely.' 

'  The  reverence  which,'  says  Dr.  Whewell,  '  handed 
down  by  the  tradition  of  ages  of  moral  and  religious 
teaching,  had  hitherto  protected  the  accustomed  forms 
of  moral  good,  was  gradually  removed.  Vice,  and 
crime,  and  sin,  ceased  to  be  words  that  terrified  the 
popular  speculator.  Virtue,  and  goodness,  and  purity 
were  no  longer  things  which  he  looked  up  to  with 
mute  respect.  He  ventured  to  lay  a  sacrilegious 
hand  even  upon  these  hallowed  shapes.  He  saw  that 
when  this  had  been  dared  by  audacious  theorists, 
those  objects,  so  long  venerated,  seemed  to  have  no 
power  of  punishing  the  bold  intruder.  There  was  a 
scene  like  that  which  occurred  when  the  barbarians 
broke  into  the  Eternal  City.  At  first,  in  spite  of 
themselves,  they  were  awed  by  the  divine  aspect  of 
the  ancient  magistrates ;  but  when  once  their  leader 
had  smitten  one  of  these  venerable  figures  with  im- 
punity, the  coarse  and  violent  mob  rushed  onwards, 
and  exultingly  mingled  all  in  one  common  destruction.' 
{Moral  Fhilosophg  in  England,  p.  79.) 

The  actual  sequence  of  cause  and  effect  seems,  if  it 
be  not  presumptuous  to  say  so,  to  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  inverted  in  this  eloquent  statement.  The 
licentiousness  of  talk  and  manners  was  not  produced 
by  the  moral  doctrines  promulgated  :  but  the  doctrine 
of  moral  consequences  was  had  recourse  to  by  the 
divines  and  morahsts  as  the  most  likely  remedy  of  the 
prevailing  licentiousness.  It  was  an  attempt,  well- 
meant  but  not  successful,  to  arrest  the  wanton  pro- 
ceedings of  '  the  coarse  and  violent  mob.'  Good  men 
saw  mth  alarm,  almost  with  despair,  that  what  they 


i688 — 1750.  325 

said  in  the  obsolete  language  of  religious  teaching  was 
not  listened  to,  and  tried  to  address  the  age  in  plain 
and  uuniistakeable  terms.  The  new  theory  of  conse- 
quences was  not  introduced  by  '  men  of  leisure '  to 
supplant  and  overthrow  a  nobler  and  purer  view  of 
religion  and  morality,  it  was  a  plain  fact  of  religion 
stated  in  plain  language,  in  the  hope  of  deterring  the 
wicked  from  his  wickedness.  It  was  the  address  of 
the  Old  Testament  prophet,  '  ^Hiy  will  ye  die,  0 
house  of  Israel?'  That  there  is  a  God  and  moral 
Governor,  and  that  obedience  to  His  commands  is 
necessary  to  secure  our  interests  in  this  world  and  the 
next — if  any  form  of  rational  belief  can  control  the 
actions  of  a  rational  being,  it  is  surely  this.  On  the 
rationalist  hypothesis,  the  morality  of  consequences 
ought  to  produce  the  most  salutary  effects  on  the 
general  behaviour  of  mankind.  This  obligation  of 
obedience,  the  appeal  to  our  desire  of  our  own  welfare, 
was  the  substance  of  the  practical  teaching  of  the  age. 
It  was  stated  with  great  cogency  of  reasoning,  and 
enforced  with  every  variety  of  illustration.  Put  its 
proof  at  the  lowest,  let  it  be  granted  that  they  did 
not  succeed  in  removing  all  the  objections  of  the 
Deistical  writers,  it  must,  at  least,  be  allowed  that 
they  showed,  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  prudent  and 
thinkmg  men,  that  it  was  safer  to  believe  Christianity 
true  than  not.  The  obligation  to  practice  in  point  of 
prudence  was  as  perfect  as  though  the  proof  had  been 
demonstrative.  And  what  was  the  surprising  result  ? 
That  the  more  they  demonstrated  the  less  people  be- 
lieved. As  Ihe  proof  of  morality  was  elaborated  and 
strengthened,  the  more  it  was  disregarded,  the  more 
ungodliness  and  profaneness  flourished  and  grew. 
This  is  certainly  not  what  we  should  antecedently 
expect.  If,  as  Dr.  Whewell  assumes,  and  the  whole 
doctrinaire  school  with  him,  the  speculative  belief  of 
an  age  determines  its  moral  character,  that  should  be 
the  j)urest  epoch  where  the  morality  of  consequences 


■V 


326      Tendencies  of  Religious  Tliougld  in  England^ 

is  placed  in  the  strongest  light — when  it  is  most  con 
vincingly  set  before  men  that  their  present  and  future 
welfare  depends  on  how  they  act ;  that  '  all  we  enjoy, 
and  great  part  of  what  we   suffer,  is   placed  in  our 
own  hands.' 

Experience,  however,  the  testimony  of  history,  dis- 
plays to  us  a  result  the  very  reverse.  The  experi- 
ment of  the  i8th  century  may  surely  be  considered 
as  a  decisive  one  on  this  point.  The  failure  of  a  pru- 
dential system  of  ethics  as  a  restraining  force  upon 
society  was  perceived,  or  felt  in  the  way  of  reaction, 
by  the  Evangelical  and  Methodist  generation  of 
teachers  who  succeeded  the  Hanoverian  divines.  So 
far  their  perception  was  just.  They  went  on  to  infer 
that,  because  the  circulation  of  one  system  of  belief 
had  been  inefficacious,  they  should  try  the  effect  of 
inculcating  a  set  of  truths  as  widely  remote  from  the 
former  as  possible.  Because  legal  preaching,  as  they 
phrased  it,  had  failed,  they  would  essay  Gospel  preach- 
ing. The  j)reaching  of  justification  by  works  had  not 
the  power  to  check  wickedness,  therefore  justification 
by  faith,  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformation,  was  the 
only  saving  truth.  This  is  not  meant  as  a  complete 
account  of  the  origin  of  the  Evangelical  school.  It  is 
only  one  point  of  view — that  point  which  connects  the 
school  with  the  general  line  of  thought  this  paper  has 
been  pursuing.  Their  doctrine  of  conversion  by 
supernatural  influence  must  on  no  account  be  for- 
gotten. Yet  it  appears  that  they  tli ought,  that  the 
channel  of  this  supernatural  influence  was,  in  some 
way  or  other,  preaching : —  preaching,  too,  not  as 
rhetoric,  but  as  the  annunciation  of  a  specific  doctrine 
— the  Gospel.  They  certainly  insisted  '  on  the  heart ' 
being  touched,  and  that  the  Spirit  only  had  the  power 
savingly  to  affect  the  heart ;  but  they  acted  as  though 
this  were  done  by  an  appeal  to  the  reason,  and  scorn- 
fully rejected  the  idea  of  religious  education. 

It  should  also  be  remarked  that  even  tbe  divines  of 


]688 — 1750.  327 

the  Hanoverian  school  were  not  wholly  blind  to  some 
flaw  in  their  theory,  and  to  the  practical  inefficacy  of 
their  doctrine.  Not  that  they  underrated  the  force 
of  their  demonstrations.  As  has  been  already  said, 
the  greater  part  of  them  over-estimated  their  convinc- 
ingness ;  but  they  could  not  but  see  that  they  did  not, 
in  fact,  convince.  When  this  was  forced  upon  their 
observation,  when  they  perceived  that  an  a  priori  de- 
monstration of  religion  might  be  placed  before  a  man, 
and  that  he  did  not  see  its  force,  then,  inconsequent 
with  their  own  theory,  they  had  recourse  to  the  notion 
of  moral  culpability.  If  a  person  refused  to  admit 
the  evidence  for  revelation,  it  was  because  he  did  not 
examine  it  with  a  dispassionate  mind.  His  under- 
standing was  biassed  by  his  wishes ;  some  illicit  pas- 
sion he  was  resolved  on  gratifying,  but  which  prudence, 
forsooth,  would  not  have  allowed  him  to  gratify  so 
long  as  he  continued  to  believe  in  a  future  judgment. 
The  wish  that  there  tvere  no  God  suggested  the  thought 
that  there  is  not.  Speculative  unbelief  is  thus  as- 
serted to  be  a  consequence  of  a  bad  heart :  it  is  the 
ground  upon  which  we  endeavour  to  prove  to  our- 
selves and  others  that  the  indulgence  of  our  passions 
is  consistent  with  a  rational  prudence.  As  levelled 
against  an  individual  opponent,  this  is  a  poor  contro- 
versial shift.  Many  of  the  Deists  were  men  of  worth 
and  probity ;  of  none  of  them  is  anything  known 
which  would  make  them  worse  men  than  the  average 
of  their  class  in  life.  Mr.  Chichester  {Deism  compared 
ivith  Christianity,  1821,  vol.  iii.  p.  220)  says  '  Tindal 
was  infamous  for  vice  in  general ;'  but  I  have  not 
been  able  to  trace  his  authority  for  the  assertion.  As 
an  imputation,  not  against  individual  unbelievers,  but 
against  the  competency  of  reason  in  general,  it  may 
be  true,  but  is  quite  inconsistent  with  the  general  hypo- 
thesis of  the  school  of  reasoners  who  brought  it.  If 
reason  be  liable  to  an  influence  which  warps  it,  then 
there  is  required  some  force  which  shall  keep  this  in- 


328      Tendencies  of  BeIi(/ious  Thought  in  England, 

fluence  nnder,  and  reason  alone  is  no  longer  the  all- 
sufficient  judge  of  truth.  In  this  way  we  should  be 
forced  back  to  the  old  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  chronic 
impotence  of  reason,  superinduced  upon  it  by  the  Fall ; 
a  doctrine  which  the  reigning  orthodoxy  had  tacitly 
renounced. 

In  the  Catholic  theory  the  feebleness  of  Reason  is 
met  half-way  and  made  good  by  the  authority  of  the 
Church.  When  the  Protestants  threw  off  this 
.A  authority,  they  did  not  assign  to  Reason  what  they 
took  from  the  Church,  but  to  Scripture,  Calvin  did 
not  shrink  from  saying  that  Scripture  '  shone  suffici- 
ently by  its  own  light.'  As  long  as  this  could  be 
kept  to,  the  Protestant  theory  of  belief  was  whole  and 
sound.  At  least  it  was  as  sound  as  the  Catholic.  In 
both,  Reason,  aided  by  spiritual  illumination,  performs 
the  subordinate  function  of  recognising  the  supreme 
authority  of  the  Church,  and  of  the  Bible,  respectively. 
Time,  learned  controversy,  and  abatement  of  zeal 
drove  the  Protestants  generally  from  the  hardy  but 
irrational  assertion  of  Calvin.  Every  foot  of  ground 
that  Scripture  lost  was  gained  by  one  or  other  of  the 
three  substitutes :  Church-authority,  the  Spirit,  or 
Reason.  Church -authority  was  essayed  by  the  Lau- 
dian  divines,  but  was  soon  found  untenable,  for  on 
that  looting  it  was  found  impossible  to  justify  the 
Reformation  and  the  breach  with  Rome.  The  Spirit 
then  came  into  favour  along  with  Independency.  But 
it  was  still  more  quickly  discovered  that  on  such  a 
basis  only  discord  and  disunion  could  be  reared.  There 
remained  to  be  tried  Common  Reason,  carefully  dis- 
tinguished from  recondite  learning,  and  not  based  on 
metaphysical  assumptions.  To  apply  this  instrument 
to  the  contents  of  Revelation  was  the  occupation  of 
the  early  half  of  the  eighteenth  century ;  with  what 
success  has  been  seen.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  cen- 
tury the  same  Common  Reason  was  applied  to  the. 
external  evidences.     But  here  the  method  fails  in  a 


f688— 1750.  329        ^ 

first  requisite — universality ;  for  even  the  sliallowest 
array  of  historical  proof  requires  some  book-learning 
to  apprehend.  Further  than  this,  the  Lardner  and 
Paley  school  could  not  complete  their  proof  satisfacto- 
rily, inasmuch  as  the  materials  for  the  investigation 
of  the  first  and  second  centuries  of  the  Christian  era 
were  not  at  hand. 

Such  appears  to  be  the  past  history  of  the  Theory 
of  Belief  in  the  Church  of  England.  Whoever  would 
take  the  religious  literature  of  the  present  day  as  a 
whole,  and  endeavour  to  make  out  clearly  on  what 
basis  Revelation  is  supposed  by  it  to  rest,  whether  on 
Authority,  on  the  Inward  Light,  on  Reason,  on  self- 
evidencing  Scripture,  or  on  the  combination  of  the 
four,  or  some  of  them,  and  in  what  proportions,  would 
probably  find  that  he  had  undertaken  a  perplexing  but 
not  altogether  profitless  inquiry. 


o 


ON  THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  SCRIPTURE. 


TT  is  a  strange,  though  familiar  fact,  that  great 
-^  differences  of  opinion  exist  respecting  the  Interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  All  Christians  receive  the  Old 
and  New  Testament  as  sacred  writings,  but  they  are 
not  agreed  about  the  meaning  which  they  attribute 
to  them.  The  book  itself  remains  as  at  the  first ;  the 
commentators  seem  rather  to  reflect  the  changing 
atmosphere  of  the  world  or  of  the  Church.  Different 
individuals  or  bodies  of  Christians  have  a  different 
point  of  view,  to  which  their  interpretation  is  narrowed 
or  made  to  conform.  It  is  assumed,  as  natural  and 
necessary,  that  the  same  words  will  present  one  idea 
to  the  mind  of  the  Protestant,  another  to  the  Roman 
Catholic ;  one  meaning  to  the  German,  another  to  the 
English  interpreter.  The  Ultramontane  or  Anglican 
divine  is  not  supposed  to  be  impartial  in  his  treatment 
of  passages  which  aftbrd  an  apparent  foundation  for 
the  doctrine  of  purgatory  or  the  primacy  of  St.  Peter 
on  the  one  hand,  or  the  three  orders  of  clergy  and 
the  divine  origin  of  episcopacy  on  the  other.  It  is  a 
received  view  with  many,  that  the  meaning  of  the 
Bible  is  to  be  defined  by  that  of  the  Prayer-book; 
while  there  are  others  who  interpret  '  the  Bible  and 
the  Bible  only'  with  a  silent  reference  to  the  traditions 
of  the  Reformation.  Philosophical  differences  are  in 
the  background,  into  which  the  differences  about 
Scripture  also  resolve  themselves.     They  seem  to  run 


Oil  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  331 

up  at  last  into  a  difference  of  opinion  respecting  Eeve- 
lation  itself — whether  given  beside  the  human  faculties 
or  through  them,  whether  an  interruj^tion  of  the  laws 
of  nature  or  their  perfection  and  fulfilment. 

This  effort  to  pull  the  authority  of  Scripture  in 
different  directions  is  not  peculiar  to  our  own  day  ; 
the  same  phenomenon  appears  in  the  past  history  of 
the  Church.  At  the  Eeformation,  in  the  Nicene  or 
Pelagian  times,  the  New  Testament  was  the  ground 
over  which  men  fought ;  it  might  also  be  compared 
to  the  armoury  which  furnished  them  with  weapons. 
Opposite  aspects  of  the  truth  which  it  contains  were 
appropriated  by  different  sides.  'Justified  by  faith 
without  works'  and  'justified  by  faith  as  well  as  works' 
are  equally  Scriptural  expressions  ;  the  one  has  become 
the  formula  of  Protestants,  the  other  of  Roman 
Catholics.  The  fifth  and  ninth  chapters  of  the 
Pomans,  single  verses  such  as  i  Corinthians  iii.  15, 
John  iii.  3,  still  bear  traces  of  many  a  life-long  strife 
in  the  pages  of  commentators.  The  difference  of 
interpretation  which  prevails  among  ourselves  is  partly 
traditional,  that  is  to  say,  inherited  from  the  con- 
troversies of  former  ages.  The  use  made  of  Scripture, 
by  Fathers  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  by  Luther  and 
Calvin,  affects  our  idea  of  its  meaning  at  the  present 
hour. 

Another  cause  of  the  multitude  of  interpretations 
is  the  growth  or  progress  of  the  human  mind  itself. 
Modes  of  interpreting  vary  as  time  goes  on ;  they 
partake  of  the  general  state  of  literature  or  knowledge. 
It  has  not  been  easily  or  at  once  that  mankind  have 
learned  to  realize  the  character  of  sacred  writings — 
they  seem  almost  necessarily  to  veil  themselves  from 
human  eyes  as  circumstances  change  ;  it  is  the  old 
age  of  the  world  only  that  has  at  length  understood 
its  childhood.  (Or  rather  perhaps  is  beginning  to 
understand  it,  and  learning  to  make  allowance  for  its 
own  deficiency  of  knowledge ;  for  the  infancy  of  the 


332  On  ike  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

human  race,  as  of  tlie  individual,  affords  but  few 
indications  of  the  workings  of  the  mind  within.) 
More  often  than  we  suppose,  the  great  sayings  and 
doings  upon  the  earth,  '  thoughts  that  breathe  and 
words  that  burn,'  are  lost  in  a  sort  of  chaos  to  the 
apprehension  of  those  that  come  after.  Much  of  past 
history  is  dimly  seen  and  receives  only  a  conventional 
interpretation,  even  when  the  memorials  of  it  remain. 
There  is  a  time  at  which  the  freshness  of  early 
literature  is  lost ;  mankind  have  turned  rhetoricians, 
and  no  longer  write  or  feel  in  the  spirit  which  created 
it.  In  this  unimaginative  period  in  which  sacred 
or  ancient  writings  are  partially  unintelligible,  many 
methods  have  been  taken  at  different  times  to  adapt 
the  ideas  of  the  past  to  the  wants  of  the  present. 
One  age  has  wandered  into  the  flowery  paths  of 
allegory, 

*  In  pious  meditation  fancy  fed.' 

Another  has  straitened  the  liberty  of  the  Gospel  by  a 
rigid  application  of  logic,  the  former  being  a  method 
which  was  at  first  more  naturally  applied  to  the  Old 
Testament,  the  latter  to  the  New.  Both  methods  of 
interpretation,  the  mystical  and  logical,  as  they  may 
be  termed,  have  been  practised  on  the  Vedas  and  the 
Koran,  as  well  as  on  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Scrip- 
tures, the  true  glory  and  note  of  divinity  in  these 
latter  being  not  that  they  have  hidden  mysterious 
or  double  meanings,  but  a  simple  and  universal  one, 
which  is  beyond  them  and  will  survive  them.  Since 
the  revival  of  literature,  interpreters  have  not  unfre- 
quently  fallen  into  error  of  another  kind  from  a 
pedantic  and  misplaced  use  of  classical  learning ;  the 
minute  examination  of  words  often  withdrawing  the 
mind  from  more  important  matters.  A  tendency  may 
be  observed  within  the  last  century  to  clothe  systems 
of  philosophy  in  the  phraseology  of  Scripture.  But 
'  new  wine  cannot  thus    be    put  into    old    bottles.* 


On  the  Infeiyretation  of  Scripiure.  333 

Thougli  rouglily  distiiiguisliable  by  different  ages, 
these  modes  or  tendencies  also  exist  together ;  the 
remains  of  all  of  them  may  be  remarked  in  some  of 
the  popular  commentaries  of  our  own  day. 

More  common  than  any  of  these  methods,  and  not 
peculiar  to  any  age,  is  that  which  may  be  called  by 
way  of  distinction  the  rhetorical  one.  The  tendency 
to  exaggerate  or  amplify  the  meaning  of  simple  words 
for  the  sake  of  edification  may  indeed  have  a  practical 
use  in  sermons,  the  object  of  which  is  to  awaken  not 
so  much  the  intellect  as  the  heart  and  conscience. 
Spiritual  food,  like  natural,  may  require  to  be  of  a 
certain  bulk  to  nourish  the  human  mind.  But  this 
'  tendency  to  edification'  has  had  an  unfortunate 
influence  on  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  For  the 
preacher  almost  necessarily  oversteps  the  limits  of 
actual  knowledge,  his  feelings  overflow  with  the  subject; 
even  if  he  have  the  power,  he  has  seldom  the  time  for 
accurate  thought  or  inquiry.  And  in  the  course  of  years 
spent  in  writing,  perhaps,  without  study,  he  is  apt  to  per- 
suade himself,  if  not  others,  of  the  truth  of  his  own 
repetitions.  The  trivial  consideration  of  making  a 
discourse  of  sufficient  length  is  often  a  reason  why  he 
overlays  the  words  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles  with 
commonplaces.  The  meaning  of  the  text  is  not 
always  the  object  which  he  has  in  view,  liut  some 
moral  or  religious  lesson  which  he  has  found  it 
necessary  to  append  to  it ;  some  cause  which  he  is 
pleading,  some  error  of  the  day  which  he  has  to  com- 
bat. And  while  in  some  passages  he  hardly  dares  to 
trust  himself  with  the  full  force  of  Scripture  (Matthew 
V.  34;  ix.  13  ;  xix.  31;  Acts  V.  29),  in  others  be  extracts 
more  from  words  than  they  really  imply  (Matthew 
xxii.  21  ;  xxviii.  20  ;  Romans  xiii.  i  ;  &c.),  being  more 
eager  to  guard  against  the  abuse  of  some  precept  than 
to  enforce  it,  attenuating  or  adapting  the  utterance  of 
prophecy  to  the  requirements  or  to  the  measure  of 
modern  times.     Any  one  who  has  ever  written  sermons 


334  On  the  Interior etation  of  Scripture. 

is  aware  how  hard  it  is  to  apply  Scripture  to  the 
wants  of  his^i^arersjand  a|  the^ 
its  meaning. 

The  phenomenon  which  has  been  described  in  the 
preceding  pages  is  so  familiar,  and  yei  so  extraordinary, 
that  it  requires  an  effort  of  thought  to  appreciate  its 
true  nature.  We  do  not  at  once  see  the  absurdity  of 
the  same  words  having  many  senses,  or  free  our  minds 
from  the  illusion  that  the  Apostle  or  Evangelist  must 
jiave  written  with  a  reference  to  the  creeds  or  con- 
troversies or  circumstances  of  other  times.  Let  it  be 
considered,  then,  that  this  extreme  variety  of  interpre- 
tation is  found  to  exist  in  the  case  of  no  other  book, 
but  of  the  Scriptures  only.  Other  writings  are  pre- 
served to  us  in  dead  languages — Greek,  Latin,  Oriental, 
some  of  them  in  fragments,  all  of  them  originally  in 
manuscript.  It  is  true  that  difficulties  arise  in  the 
explanation  of  these  writings,  especially  in  the  most 
ancient,  from  our  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the 
meaning  of  words,  or  the  defectiveness  of  copies,  or  the 
want  of  some  historical  or  geographical  information 
which  is  required  to  present  an  event  or  character  in 
its  true  bearing.  In  comparison  with  the  wealth  and 
light  of  modern  literature,  our  knowledge  of  Greek 
classical  authors,  for  example,  may  be  called  imperfect 
and  shadowy.  Some  of  them  have  another  sort  of 
difficulty  arising  from  subtlety  or  abruptness  in  the 
use  of  language  ;  in  lyric  poetry  especially,  and  some 
of  the  earlier  prose,  the  greatness  of  the  thought 
struggles  with  the  stammering  lips.  It  may  be 
observed  that  all  these  difficulties  occur  also  in 
Scripture  ;  they  are  found  equally  in  sacred  and  pro- 
fane literature.  But  the  meaning  of  classical  authors 
is  known  with  comparative  certainty ;  and  the  inter- 
pretation of  them  seems  to  rest  on  a  scientific  basis. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  to  philological  or  historical  diffi- 
culties that  the  greater  part  of  the  uncertainty  in  the 
interpretation  of  Scripture  is  to  be  attributed.     No 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  335 

ignorance  of  Hebrew  or  Greek  is  sufficient  to  account 
for  it.  Even  the  Vedas  and  the  Zendavesta,  though 
beset  by  obscurities  of  language  probably  greater  than 
are  found  in  any  portion  of  the  Bible,  are  interpreted, 
at  least  by  European  scholars,  according  to  fixed  rules, 
and  beginning  to  be  clearly  understood. 

To  bring  the  parallel  home,  let  us  imagine  the 
remains  of  some  well-known  Greek  author,  as  Plato 
or  Sophocles,  receiving  the  same  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  world  which  the  Scriptures  have  expe- 
rienced. The  text  of  such  an  author,  when  first  printed 
by  Aldus  or  Stephens,  would  be  gathered  from  the  im- 
perfect or  mis  written  copies  which  fell  in  the  way  of 
the  editors ;  after  awhile  older  and  better  manuscripts 
come  to  light,  and  the  power  of  using  and  estimating 
the  value  of  manuscripts  is  greatly  improved.  We  may 
suppose,  further,  that  the  readings  of  these  older  copies 
do  not  always  conform  to  some  received  canons  of 
criticism.  Up  to  the  year  1550,  or  1624,  alterations, 
often  proceeding  on  no  principle,  have  been  introduced 
into  the  text ;  but  now  a  stand  is  made — an  edition 
which  appeared  at  the  latter  of  the  two  dates  just 
mentioned  is  invested  with  authority  ;  this  authorized 
text  is  ajy?(?ce  de  re-nstauce  against  innovation.  Many 
reasons  are  given  why  it  is  better  to  have  bad  readings 
to  which  the  world  is  accustomed  than  good  ones 
which  are  novel  and  strange — why  the  later  manu- 
scripts of  Plato  or  Sophocles  are  often  to  be  preferred 
to  earlier  ones — why  it  is  useless  to  remove  imperfec- 
tions where  perfect  accuracy  is  not  to  be  attained.  A 
fear  of  disturbing  the  critical  canons  which  have  come 
down  from  former  ages  is,  however,  suspected  to  be 
one  reason  for  the  opposition.  And  custom  and  pre- 
judice, and  tlie  nicety  of  the  subject,  and  all  the  argu- 
ments which  are  intelligible  to  the  many  against  the 
truth,  which  is  intelligible  only  to  the  few,  are  thrown 
into  the  scale  to  preserve  the  works  of  Plato  or 
Sophocles  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  received  text. 


336  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

Leaving  the  text  we  proceed  to  interpret  and  trans- 
late. The  meaning  of  Greek  words  is  known  with 
tolerable  certainty ;  and  the  grammar  of  the  Grreek 
language  has  been  minutely  analysed  both  in  ancient 
and  modern  times.  Yet  the  interpretation  of  Sophocles 
is  tentative  and  uncertain  ;  it  seems  to  vary  from  age 
to  age  :  to  some  the  great  tragedian  has  appeared  to 
embody  in  his  choruses  certain  theological  or  moral 
ideas  of  his  own  age  or  country  ;  there  are  others  who 
find  there  an  allegory  of  the  Christian  religion  or  of 
the  history  of  modern  Europe.  Several  schools  of 
critics  have  commented  on  his  works  ;  to  the  English- 
man he  has  presented  one  meaning,  to  the  Frenchman 
another,  to  the  German  a  third  ;  the  interpretations 
have  also  differed  with  the  philosophical  systems  which 
the  interpreters  espoused.  To  one  tlie  same  words 
have  appeared  to  bear  a  moral,  to  another  a  symbolical 
meaning ;  a  third  is  determined  wholly  by  the 
authority  of  old  commentators  ;  while  there  is  a  dis- 
position to  condemn  the  scholar  who  seeks  to  interpret 
Sophocles  from  himself  only,  and  with  reference  to  the 
ideas  and  beliefs  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  And 
the  error  of  such  an  one  is  attributed  not  only  to  some 
intellectual  but  even  to  a  moral  obliquity  which  pre- 
vents his  seeing  the  true  meaning. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  into  details  the  absur- 
dity which  has  been  supposed.  By  such  methods  it 
would  be  truly  said  that  Sophocles  or  Plato  may  be 
made  to  mean  anything.  It  would  seem  as  if  some 
Novum  Organum  were  needed  to  lay  down  rules  of  in- 
terpretation for  ancient  literature.  Still  one  other 
supposition  has  to  be  introduced  which  will  appear, 
23erliaps,  more  extravagant  than  any  which  have  pre- 
ceded. Conceive  then  that  these  modes  of  interpreting 
Sophocles  had  existed  for  ages  ;  that  great  institutions 
and  interests  had  become  interwoven  with  them,  and 
in  some  degree  even  the  honour  of  nations  and  churches 
— is  it  too  much  to  say  that  in  such  a  case  they  would 


O/i  the  Interpretation  of  Scrqjture.  337 

be  clianged  with  difficulty,  and  that  they  would  con- 
tinue to  be  maintained  long  after  critics  and  philoso- 
phers had  seen  that  they  were  indefensible  ? 

No  one   who  has  a   Christian  feeling  would  place 
classical  on  a  level  with  sacred  literature  ;  and  there 
are  other  particulars  in  which  the  preceding  comparison 
fails,  as,  for  example,  the  style  and  subject.     But,  how- 
ever different  the  subject,  although  the  interpretation 
of  Scripture  requires  'a  vision  and  faculty  divine,'  or  at 
least  a  moral  and  religious  interest  which  is  not  needed 
in  the  study  of  a  Greek  poet  or  philosopher,  yet  in  what   \ 
may  be  termed  the  externals  of  interpretation,  that  is    1 
to  say,  the  meaning  of  words,  the  connexion  of  sen-    '■ 
tences,   the   settlement  of  the  text,   the   evidence   of 
facts,  the  same   rules   apply   to   the   Old   and   New    \ 
Testaments  as  to  other  books.     And  the  figure  is  no 
exaggeration  of  the  erring  fancy  of  men  in  the  use  of 
Scripture,  or  of  the  tenacity  with  which  they  cling  to 
the  interpretations  of  other  times,  or  of  the  arguments 
by  which  they  maintain  them.     All  the  resources  of 
knowledge  may  be   turned  into  a  means  not   of  dis- 
covering   the    true    rendering,    but    of   upholding    a 
received   one.      Grrammar  appears    to   start  from   an 
independent  point  of  view,  yet  inquiries  into  the  use 
of  the  article  or  the  preposition  have  been  observed  to 
wind  round  into  a  defence  of  some  doctrine.    Rhetoric 
ot\en  magnifies  its  own  want  of  taste  into  the  design 
of  inspiration.     Logic  (that  other  mode  of  rhetoric)  is 
apt  to  lend  itself  to  the  illusion,  by  stating  erroneous 
explanations   with  a  clearness  which  is  mistaken  for 
truth.     '  Metaphysical  aid  '  carries  away  the  common 
understanding  into  a  region  where  it  must  blindly 
follow.     Learning  obscures  as  well  as  illustrates  ;  it 
heaps  up  chaff  when  there  is  no  more  wheat.     These 
are  some  of  the  ways  in  which  the  sense  of  Scripture 
has  become  confused,  by  the  help  of  tradition,  in  the 
course  of  ages,  under  a  load  of  commentators. 

The  book  itself  remains   as  at  the  first  unchanged 

z 


338  On  the  Lilerjoretation  of  Scrljjiare. 

amid  the  changing  interpretations  of  it.  The  office  of 
the  interpreter  is  not  to  add  another,  but  to  recover 
the  original  one  ;  the  meaning,  that  is,  of  the  words 
as  they  struck  on  the  ears  or  flashed  before  the  eyes 
of  those  who  first  heard  and  read  them.  He  has  to 
transfer  himself  to  another  age  ;  to  imagine  that  he  is 
a  disciple  of  Christ  or  Paul ;  to  disengage  himself  from 
all  that  follows.  The  history  of  Christendom  is  nothing 
to  him  ;  but  only  the  scene  at  Galilee  or  Jerusalem, 
the  handful  of  believers  who  gathered  themselves  to- 
gether at  Ephesus,  or  Corinth,  or  Rome.  His  eye  is 
fixed  on  the  form  of  one  like  the  Son  of  man,  or  of  the 
Prophet  who  was  girded  with  a  garment  of  camel's 
hair,  or  of  the  Apostle  who  had  a  thorn  in  the  fiesh. 
The  greatness  of  the  Roman  Empire  is  nothing  to 
him ;  it  is  an  inner  not  an  outer  world  that  he  is 
striving  to  restore.  All  the  after- thoughts  of  theology 
are  nothing  to  him  ;  they  are  not  the  true  lights 
which  light  him  in  difficult  places.  His  concern  is 
with  a  book  in  which,  as  in  other  ancient  writings,  are 
some  things  of  which  we  are  ignorant ;  which  defect 
of  our  knowledge  cannot  however  be  supplied  by  the 
conjectures  of  fathers  or  divines.  The  simple  words 
of  that  book  he  tries  to  preserve  absolutely  pure  from 
the  refinements  or  distinctions  of  later  times.  He 
acknowledges  that  they  are  fragmentary,  and  would 
suspect  himself,  if  out  of  fragments  he  were  able  to 
create  a  well-rounded  system  or  a  continuous  history. 
The  greater  part  of  his  learning  is  a  knowledge  of  the 
text  itself;  he  has  no  delight  in  the  voluminous  lite- 
rature which  has  overgrown  it.  He  has  no  theory  of 
interpretation ;  a  few  rules  guarding  against  common 
errors  are  enough  for  him.  His  object  is  to  read 
Scripture  like  any  other  book,  with  a  real  interest  and 
not  merely  a  conventional  one.  He  wants  to  be  able  to 
open  his  eyes  and  see  or  imagine  things  as  they  truly  are. 
Nothing  would  be  more  likely  to  restore  a  natural 
feeling  on  this  subject  than  a  history  of  the  Interpre- 


On  the  Iiiterjjretation  of  Scrijjture.  339 

tatlon  of  Scripture.  It  would  take  us  back  to  the 
beg-innmg ;  it  would  present  in  one  view  the  causes 
which  have  darkened  the  meaning  of  words  in  the 
course  of  ages ;  it  would  clear  away  the  remains  of 
dogmas,  systems,  controversies,  which  are  encrusted 
upon  them.  It  would  show  us  the  '  erring  fancy'  of 
interpreters  assuming  sometimes  to  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  Himself,  yet  unable  to  pass  beyond  the  limits  of 
their  own  age,  and  with  a  judgment  often  biassed  by 
parly.  Great  names  there  have  been  among  them, 
names  of  men  who  may  be  reckoned  also  among  the 
benefactors  of  the  human  race,  yet  comparatively  few 
who  have  understood  the  thoughts  of  other  times,  or 
vvdio  have  bent  their  minds  to  '  interrogate'  the  mean- 
ing of  words.  Such  a  work  would  enable  us  to  separate 
the  elements  of  doctrine  and  tradition  with  vvhicli  the 
meaning  of  Scripture  is  encumbered  in  our  own  day. 
It  would  mark  the  different  epochs  of  interpretation 
from  the  time  when  the  living  word  was  in  process  of 
becoming  a  book  to  Origen  and  Tertullian,  from 
Origen  to  Jerome  and  Augustine,  from  Jerome  and 
Augustine  to  Abelard  and  Acjuinas  ;  again  making  a 
new  beginning  with  the  revival  of  literature,  irom 
Erasmus,  the  father  of  Biblical  criticism  in  more 
recent  times,  with  Calvin  and  Beza  for  his  immediate 
successors,  through  Grotius  and  Hammond,  down  to 
De  Wette  and  Meier,  our  own  contemporaries.  We 
should  see  how  the  mystical  interpretation  of  Scripture 
originated  in  the  Alexandrian  age  ;  how  it  blended 
with  the  logical  and  rhetorical ;  how  both  received 
weight  and  currency  from  their  use  in  support  of  the 
claims  and  teaching  of  the  Church.  We  should  notice 
how  the  '  new  learning'  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries  gradually  awakened  the  critical  faculty  in 
the  study  oTthe  sacred  writings  ;  how  Biblical  criticism 
has  slowly  but  surely  followed  in  the  track  of  philo- 
logical and  historical  (not  without  a  remoter  influence 
exercised  upon  it  also  by  natural  science) ;    how,  too, 

Z    2 


340  Oil  the  Tiiterpretation  of  Scrijjtme. 

the  form  of  the  scholastic  literature,  and  even  of  notes 
on  the  chissics,  insensibly  communicated  itself  to  com- 
mentaries on  Scripture.  We  should  see  how  the  word 
inspiration,  from  being  used  in  a  general  way  to  ex- 
press Avhat  may  be  called  the  prophetic  spirit  of 
Scripture,  has  passed,  within  the  last  two  centuries, 
into  a  sort  of  technical  term  ;  how,  in  other  instances, 
the  practice  or  feeling  of  earlier  ages  has  been  hollowed 
out  into  the  theory  or  system  of  later  ones.  We 
should  observe  how  the  popular  explanations  of  pro- 
phecy as  in  heathen  (Thucyd.  ii.  54),  so  also  in  Christian 
times,  had  adapted  themselves  to  the  circumstances  of 
mankind.     We  might  remark  that  in  our  own  country, 

\-  and  in  the  present  generation  especially,  the  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture  had  assumed  an  apologetic  character, 
as  though  making  an  effort  to  defend  itself  against 
some  supposed  inroad  of  science  and  criticism  ;  while 
among  German  commentators  there  is,  for  the  first 

iij^  time  in  the  historj^  of  the  world,  an  approach  to 
agreement  and  certainty.  For  example,  the  diversity 
among  German  writers  on  prophecy  is  far  less  than 
among  English  ones.  That  is  a  new  phenomenon 
which  has  to  be  acknowledged.  More  than  any  other 
v subject  of  human  knowledge.  Biblical  criticism  has 
hung  to  the  past ;  it  has  been  hitherto  found  truer  to 
the  traditions  of  the  Church  than  to  the  words  of 
Christ.  It  has  made,  however,  two  great  steps 
onward — at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  and  in  our 
day.  The  diffusion  of  a  critical  spirit  in  history  and 
literature  is  affecting  the  criticism  of  the  Bible  in  our 
own  day  in  a  manner  not  unlike  the  burst  of  intellectual 
T  life  in  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  centuries.  Educated 
persons  are  beginning  to  ask,  not  what  Scripture  may 
be  made  to  mean,  but  what  it  does.  And  it  is  no 
exaggeration  to  say  that  he  who  in  the  present  state 
of  knowledge  will  confine  himself  to  the  plain  meaning 
of  words  and  the  study  of  their  context  may  know 
more  of  the  original  spirit  and  intention  of  the  authors 


On  the  Interpret  all  on  of  Ser'qjture.  341 

of    the  New    Testament  than  all    the    controversial 
writers  of  former  ages  put  together. 

Such  a  histor}"  would  be  of  great  value  to  philosophy 
as   well  as   to  theology.     It  would  be  the  history  of 
the  human  mind  in  one  of  its  most  remarkable  mani- 
festations.     For    ao^es  which   are  not  oris^inal  show 
their  character  in  the  interpretation  of  ancient  writings. 
Creating  nothing,  and  incapable  of  that  effort  of  ima- 
gination which  is  required  in   a  true  criticism  of  the 
past,  they  read  and  explain  the  thoughts  of  former 
times  by  the  conventional  modes  of  their  own.     Such 
a  history  would  form  a  kind  of  preface  or  prolegomena 
to  the  study  of  Scripture.    Like  the  history  of  science, 
it  would  save  many  a  useless  toil ;  it  would  indicate 
the  uncertainties'  on  which  it  is  not  worth  while  to 
specuhite  further;  thebyepaths  or  labyrinths  in  which 
men  lose  themselves ;    the    mines    that   are    already 
worked  out.     He  who  reflects  on  the  multitude  of  ex- 
planations which  already  exist  of  the  *  number  of  the 
beast,'  '  the  two  witnesses,'  '  the  little  horn,'  '  the  man 
of  sin,'  who  observes  the  manner  in  which  these  ex- 
planations have  varied  with  the   political  movements 
of  our  own  time,  will  be  unwilling  to  devote  himself 
to  a  method  of  inquiry  in  which  there  is  so  little  ap- 
pearance of  certainty  or  progress.     These  interpreta- 
tions would  destroy  one  another  if  they  were  all  placed 
side  by  side  in  a  tabular  analysis.     It  is  an  instructive 
fact,  which  may  be  mentioned  in  passing,  that  Joseph 
Mede,  the  greatest   authority  on  this  subject,   twice 
fixed  the  end  of  the  world  in  the  last  century  and  once 
durino-  his  own  lifetime.     In   like  manner,   he  who 
notices  the  circumstance  that  the  explanations  of  the 
first  chapter  of  Genesis  have  slowly  changed,  and,  as 
it  were,  retreated  before  the  advance  of  geology,  will 
be  unwilling  to  add  another  to  the  spurious  reconcile- 
ments  of   science    and    revelation.       Or   to    take   an 
example  of  another  kind,  the  Protestant  divine  who 
perceives  that  the  types  and  figures  of  the  Old  Testa- 


342  On  the  InteijJretation  of  Scripture. 

ment  are  employed  by  Eoman  Catholics  in  support  of 
the  tenets  of  their  church,  will  be  careful  not  to  use 
weapons  which  it  is  impossible  to  guide,  and  which 
may  with  equal  force  be  turned  against  himself.  Those 
who  have  handled  them  on  the  Protestant  side  have 
before  now  fallen  victims  to  them,  not  observing  as 
they  fell  that  it  was  by  their  own  hand. 

Much  of  the  uncertainty  which  prevails  in  the 
interpretation  of  Scripture  arises  out  of  party  efforts 
to  wrest  its  meaning  to  different  sides.  There  are, 
however,  deeper  reasons  which  have  hindered  the 
natural  meaning  of  the  text  from  immediately  and 
universally  prevailing.  One  of  these  is  the  unsettled 
state  of  many  questions  which  have  an  important  but 
indirect  bearing  on  this  sul^ject.  Some  of  these  ques- 
tions veil  themselves  in  ambiguous  terms ;  and  no  one 
likes  to  draw  them  out  of  their  hiding-place  into  the 
light  of  day.  In  natural  science  it  is  felt  to  be  useless 
to  build  on  assumptions  ;  in  history  we  look  with  sus- 
picion on  a  priori  ideas  of  what  ought  to  have  been ; 
in  mathematics,  when  a  step  is  wrong,  we  pull  the 
house  down  until  we  reach  the  point  at  which  the 
error  is  discovered.  But  in  theology  it  is  otherwise  ; 
there  the  tendency  has  been  to  conceal  the  unsound- 
■^  ness  of  the  foundation  under  the  fairness  and  loftiness 
of  the  superstructure.  It  has  been  thought  safer  to 
allow  arguments  to  stand  which,  although  fallacious, 
have  been  on  the  right  side,  than  to  point  out  their 
defect.  And  thus  many  principles  have  imperceptibly 
grown  up  which  have  overridden  facts.  No  one 
would  interpret  Scripture,  as  many  do,  but  for  certain 
previous  suppositions  with  wdiich  we  come  to  the 
perusal  of  it.  '  There  can  be  no  error  in  the  Word 
of  Grod,'  therefore  the  discrepancies  in  the  books  of 
Kings  and  Chronicles  are  only  apparent,  or  may  be 
attributed  to  differences  in  the  copies  : — '  It  is  a  thou- 
sand times  more  likely  that  the  interpreter  should  err 
than  the  inspired  writer.'    For  a  like  reason  the  failure 


Oil  the  Interpretation  of  Scrijjture.  343 

of  a  proplicc}^  is  never  admitted,  in  spite  of  Scripture 
and  of  history  (Jer.  xxxvi.  30;  Isai.  xxiii. ;  Amos  vii. 
TO — 17) ;  tlie  mention  of  a  name  later  than  the  sup- 
posed ag-e  of  the  prophet  is  not  allowed,  as  in  otlier 
writings,  to  be  taken  in  evidence  of  the  date  (Isai all 
xlv.  i).  The  accuracy  of  the  Old  Testament  is  mea- 
sured not  by  the  standard  of  primeval  history,  but  of  i- 
a  modern  critical  one,  which,  contrary  to  all  probability, 
is  supposed  to  be  attained;  this  arbitrary  standard 
once  assumed,  it  becomes  a  point  of  honour  or  of  faith 
to  defend  every  name,  date,  place,  which  occurs.  Or 
to  take  another  class  of  questions,  it  is  said  that  '  the 
various  theories  of  the  origin  of  the  three  first  Gospels 
are  all  equally  unknown  to  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,' 
or  as  another  writer  of  a  different  school  expresses 
himself,  '  they  tend  to  sap  the  inspiration  of  the  ISTew 
Testament.'  Again,  the  language  in  which  our  Saviour 
speaks  of  his  own  union  with  the  Father  is  interpreted 
by  the  language  of  the  creeds.  Those  who  remonstrate 
against  double  senses,  allegorical  interpretations,  forced 
reconcilements,  find  themselves  met  by  a  sort  of  pre- 
supposition that  'God  speaks  not  as  man  speaks.' 
The  limitation  of  the  human  faculties  is  confusedly  ':^ 
appealed  to  as  a  reason  for  abstaining  from  investiga- 
tions which  are  quite  within  their  limits.  The  '  sus- 
picion of  Deism,  or  perhaps  of  Atheism,  awaits  in- 
quiry. By  such  fears  a  good  man  refuses  to  be  in- 
fluenced ;  a  philosophical  mind  is  apt  to  cast  them  aside 
with  too  much  bitterness.  It  is  better  to  close  the 
book  than  to  read  it  under  conditions  of  thought  which 
are  imposed  from  without.  Whether  those  conditions 
of  thought  are  the  traditions  of  the  Church,  or  the 
opinions  of  the  religious  world — Catholic  or  Protestant 
— makes  no  difference.  They  are  inconsistent  with 
the  freedom  of  the  truth  and  the  moral  character  of 
the  Gospel.  It  becomes  necessaiy,  therefore,  to  exa- 
mine briefly  some  of  these  prior  questions  which  lie 
in  the  wa}'-  of  a  reasonable  criticism. 


344  Oil  the  Inter jjretation  of  Scripture. 

s  ^. 

Among  these  previous  questions,  that  which  first 
presents  itself  is  the  one  ah-eady  alluded  to — the 
question  of  inspiration.  Almost  all  Christians  agree 
in  the  word,  which  use  and  tradition  have  consecrated 
to  express  the  reverence  which  they  truly  feel  for  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments,  But  here  the  agreement  of 
opinion  ends  ;  the  meaning  of  inspiration  has  been 
variously  explained,  or  more  often  passed  over  in 
silence  from  a  fear  of  stirring  the  difficulties  that 
would  arise  about  it.  It  is  one  of  those  theological 
terms  which  may  be  regarded  as  '  great  peacemakers,' 
but  which  are  also  sources  of  distrust  and  misunder- 
standing. For  while  we  are  ready  to  shake  hands 
with  any  one  who  uses  the  same  language  as  ourselves, 
a  doubt  is  apt  to  insinuate  itself  whether  he  takes 
language  in  the  same  senses — whether  a  particular 
term  conveys  all  the  associations  to  another  which  it 
does  to  ourselves — whether  it  is  not  possible  that  one 
who  disagrees  about  the  word  may  not  be  more  nearly 
agreed  about  the  tiling.  The  advice  has,  indeed,  been 
given  to  the  theologian  that  he  '  should  take  care  of 
words  and  leave  things  to  themselves ;'  the  authority, 
however,  who  gives  the  advice  is  not  good — it  is  placed 
by  Groethe  in  the  mouth  of  Mephistopheles.  Pascal 
seriously  charges  the  Jesuits  with  acting  on  a  similar 
maxim — excommunicating  those  who  meant  the  same 
thing  and  said  another,  holding  communion  with 
those  who  said  the  same  thing  and  meant  another. 
But  this  is  not  the  way  to  heal  the  wounds  of  the 
Church  of  Christ ;  we  cannot  thus  '  skin  and  him'  the 
weak  places  of  theology.  Errors  about  words,  and 
the  attribution  to  words  themselves  of  an  excessive 
importance,  lie  at  the  root  of  theological  as  of  other 
confusions.  In  theology  they  are  more  dangerous 
than  in  other  sciences,  because  they  cannot  so  readily 
be  brought  to  the  test  of  facts. 


On  the  Lit crj) rotation  of  Scrq^ture.  345 

Tlie  word  inspiration  has  received  more  numerous 
gradations  and  distinctions  of  meaning  than  perhaps 
any  other  in  the  whole  of  theology.  There  is  an  inspi- 
ration of  superintendence  and  an  inspiration  of  sug- 
gestion ;  an  inspiration  which  would  have  been 
consistent  with  the  Apostle  or  Evangelist  falling 
into  error,  and  an  inspiration  which  would  have 
prevented  him  from  erring ;  verbal  organic  inspi- 
ration by  which  the  inspired  person  is  the  passive 
utterer  of  a  Divine  Word,  and  an  inspiration  which 
acts  through  the  character  of  the  sacred  writer  ;  there 
is  an  inspiration  which  absolutely  communicates  the 
foct  to  be  revealed  or  statement  to  be  made,  and  an 
inspiration  which  does  not  supersede  the  ordinary 
knowledge  of  human  events ;  there  is  an  inspiration 
which  demands  infallibility  in  matters  of  doctrine, 
but  allows  for  mistakes  in  fact.  Lastly,  there  is  a 
view  of  inspiration  which  recognises  only  its  super- 
natural and  prophetic  character,  and  a  view  of  inspi- 
ration which  regards  the  Apostles  and  Evangelists  as 
equally  inspired  in  their  writings  and  in  their  lives, 
and  in  both  receiving  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of 
truth  in  a  manner  not,  different  in  kind  but  only  in 
degree  from  ordinary  Christians.  Many  of  these  ex- 
planations lose  sight  of  the  original  meaning  and  de- 
rivation of  the  word ;  some  of  them  are  framed  with  the 
view  of  meeting  difficulties  ;  all  perhaps  err  in  attempt- 
ing to  define  what,  though  real,  is  incapable  of  being 
defined  in  an  exact  manner.  Nor  for  any  of  the 
higher  or  supernatural  views  of  inspiration  is  there 
any  foundation  in  the  Gospels  or  Epistles.  There  is 
no  appearance  in  their  writings  that  the  Evangelists 
or  Apostles  had  any  inward  gift,  or  were  subject 
to  any  power  external  to  them  different  from  that 
of  preaching  or  teaching  which  they  daily  exercised ; 
nor  do  they  anywhere  lead  us  to  suppose  that  they 
were  free  from  error  or  infirmity.  St.  Paul  writes 
like  a  Christian  teacher,  exhibiting  all  the  emotions 


346  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

and  vicissitudes  of  liumiin  feeling,  speaking,  indeed, 
with  aiithoritv,  but  liesitating-  in  difficult  cases  and 
more  than  once  correcting  himself,  corrected,  too,  by 
the  course  of  events  in  his  expectation  of  the  coming 
of  Christ.  The  Evangelist  '  who  saw  it,  bare  record, 
and  his  record  is  true  :  and  he  knoweth  that  he  saith 
true'  (John  xix.  35).  Another  Evangelist  does  not 
profess  to  be  an  original  narrator,  but  only  '  to  set 
forth  in  order  a  declaration  of  what  eye-witnesses  had 
delivered,'  like  many  others  whose  writings  have  not 
been  preserved  to  us  (Luke  i.  i,  2).  And  the  result  is 
in  accordance  with  the  simple  profession  and  style  in 
which  they  describe  themselves  ;  there  is  no  appear- 
ance, that  is  to  say,  of  insincerity  or  want  of  faith ; 
but  neither  is  there  perfect  accuracy  or  agreement. 
One  supposes  the  original  dwelling-place  of  our  Lord's 
■^  parents  to  have  been  Bethlehem  (Matthew  ii.  1,  22), 
J  another  Nazareth  (Luke  ii.  4)  ;  they  trace  his  genealogy 
in  different  ways ;  one  mentions  the  thieves  blas- 
pheming, another  has  preserved  to  after-ages  the 
record  of  the  penitent  thief;  they  appear  to  differ 
about  the  day  and  hour  of  the  Crucifixion ;  the 
narrative  of  the  woman  who  anointed  our  Lord's  feet 
with  ointment  is  told  in  all  four,  each  narrative  having 
more  or  less  considerable  variations.  These  are  a  few 
instances  of  the  differences  which  arose  in  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  earliest  ages  respecting  the  history  of 
our  Lord.  But  he  who  wishes  to  investigate  the 
character  of  the  sacred  writings  should  not  be  afraid 
to  make  a  catalogue  of  them  all  with  the  view  of 
estimating  their  cumulative  weight.  (For  it  is  obvious 
that  the  answer  which  would  be  admitted  in  the  case 
of  a  single  discrepancy,  will  not  be  the  true  answer 
when  there  are  many.)  He  should  further  consider  that 
the  narratives  in  which  these  discrepancies  occur  are 
short  and  partly  identical — a  cycle  of  tradition  beyond 
which  the  knowledge  of  the  early  fathers  never  travels, 
thouo-h  if  all  the  thin^^s  that  Jesus  said  and  did  had 
been  written  down,  'the  world  itself  could  not  have  con- 


O/i  the  Intrrpretfdlon  of  Scripfure.  347 

tained  tlie  books  that  would  have  been  written'  (John 
XX.  30 ;  xxi.  25).  For  the  proportion  which  these 
narratives  bear  to  the  whole  subject,  as  well  as  their 
relation  to  one  another,  is  an  important  element  in  the 
estimation  of  diflerences.  In  the  same  way,  he  who 
would  understand  the  nature  of  prophecy  in  the  Old 
Testament,  should  have  the  courage  to  examine  how 
far  its  details  were  minutely  fulfilled.  The  absence 
of  such  a  fulfilment  may  further  lead  him  to  discover 
that  he  took  the  letter  for  the  spirit  in  expecting  it. 

The  subject  will  clear  of  itself  if  we  bear  in  mind 
two  considerations  : — First,  that  the  nature  of  inspi- 
_ration  can  only  be  known  from  the  examination  of 
Scripture.  There  is  no  other  source  to  which  we  can 
turn  for  information  ;  and  we  have  no  right  to  assume 
some  imaginary  doctrine  of  inspiration  like  the 
infallibility  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  To  the 
question,  '  What  is  inspiration  ?'  the  first  answer  there- 
fore is,  '  That  idea  of  Scripture  which  we  gather  from 
the  knowledge  of  it.'  It  is  no  mere  a  priori  notion, 
but  one  to  which  the  book  is  itself  a  witness.  It  is  a 
fact  which  we  infer  from  the  study  of  Scripture — not 
of  one  portion  only,  but  of  the  whole.  Obviously  then 
it  embraces  writings  of  very  different  kinds — the  book 
of  Esther,  for  example,  or  the  Song  of  Solomon,  as  well 
as  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  It  is  reconcileable  with 
the  mixed  good  and  evil  of  the  characters  of  the  Old 
Testament,  which  nevertheless  does  not  exclude  them 
from  the  favour  of  God,  with  the  attribution  to  the 
Divine  Being  of  actions  at  variance  with  that  higher 
revelation,  which  he  has  givenof  himself  in  the  Gospel ; 
it  is  not  inconsistent  with  imperfect  or  opposite  aspects 
of  the  truth  as  in  the  Book  of  Job  or  Ecclesiastes, 
with  variations  of  fact  in  the  Gospels  or  the  books  of 
Kings  and  Chronicles,  with  inaccuracies  of  language  in 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  For  these  are  all  found  in 
Scripture  ;  neither  is  there  any  reason  why  they  should 
not  be,  except  a  general  impression  that  Scripture 
ought  to  have  been  written  in  a  way  different  from 


348  On  the  Literprefation  of  Scrqjfure. 

I  what  it  lias.  A  principle  of  progressive  revelation 
'  admits  them  all ;  and  this  is  already  contained  in  the 
words  of  OTir  Saviour,  '  Moses  because  of  the  hardness 
of  your  hearts  ;'  or  even  in  the  Old  Testament,  '  Hence- 
forth there  shall  be  no  more  this  proverb  in  the  house 
of  Israel.'  For  what  is  progressive  is  necessarily  im- 
perfect in  its  earlier  stages,  and  even  erring  to  those 
who  come  after,  whether  it  be  the  maxims  of  a  half- 
civilized  world  which  are  compared  with  those  of  a 
civilized  one,  or  the  Law  with  the  Gospel.  Scripture 
itself  points  the  way  to  answer  the  moral  objections  to 
Scripture.  Lesser  difficulties  remain,  but  only  such  as 
would  be  found  commonly  in  writings  of  the  same  age 
or  country.  There  is  no  more  reason  why  imperfect 
narratives  should  be  excluded  from  Scripture  than 
imperfect  grammar ;  no  more  ground  for  expecting 
that  the  New  Testament  would  be  logical  or  Aristo- 
telian in  form,  than  that  it  would  be  written  in  Attic 
Greek. 

The    other   consideration  is  one    which    has   been 

neglected  by  writers    on   this   subject.     It  is   this — 

that  any  true  doctrine  of  inspiration  must  conform  to 

''   all   well-ascertained   facts   of  history    or    of__science. 

The  same  fact  cannot  be  true  and  untrue,  any  more 

than  the  same  words  can  have  two  opposite  meaninp-s. 

The  same  fact  cannot  be   true  in  religion  when  seen 

by  the  light  of  faith,  and  untrue  in  science  when  looked 

at  through  the  medium   of  evidence   or  experiment. 

It  is  ridiculous  to  suppose  that  the  sun  goes  round  the 

earth  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  earth  o:oes  round 

the  sun ;  or  that  the  world  appears   to  have   existed, 

but  has  not  existed  during  the  vast   epochs  of  which 

geology  speaks  to  us.     But  if  so,  there  is  no  need  of 

elaborate    reconcilements    of  revelation  and  science ; 

f"^  they  reconcile   themselves  the  moment  any  scientific 

\^,    truth  is  distinctly  ascertained.     As  the  idea  of  nature 

^^  enlarges,  the  idea  of  revelation   also  enlarges  ;  it   was 

a  temporary  misunderstanding   which   severed  them. 

And  as  the  knowledge  of  nature  which  is  possessed  by 


On  the  Interjpretaiion  of  Scripture.  349 

the  few  is  communicated  in  its  leading  features  at 
least  to  the  many,  they  will  receive  with  it  a  higher 
conception  of  the  ways  of  God  to  man.  It  may 
hereafter  appear  as  natural  to  the  majority  of  mankind 
to  see  the  providence  of  God  in  the  order  of  the  world, 
as  it  once  was  to  appeal  to  interruptions  of  it. 

It  is  true  that  there  is  a  class  of  scientific  facts 
with  which  popular  opinions  on  theology  often  con- 
flict and  which  do  not  seem  to  conform  in  all  respects 
to  the  severer  conditions  of  inductive  science :  such 
especially  are  the  facts  relating  to  the  formation  of 
tlie  earth  and  the  beginnings  of  the  human  race.  But 
it  is  not  worth  while  to  lio-ht  on  this  debateable  o-round 
a  losing  battle  in  the  hope  that  a  generation  will  pass 
away  before  we  sound  a  last  retreat.  Almost  all  intel- 
ligent persons  are  agreed  that  the  earth  has  existed  , 
for  myriads  of  ages ;  the  best  informed  are  of  opinion  ' 
that  the  history  of  nations  extends  back  some  thousand 
years  before  the  Mosaic  chronology;  recent  disco  veriesin 
geology  may  perhaps  open  a  further  vista  of  existence 
for  the  human  species,  while  it  is  possible,  and  may 
one  day  be  known,  that  mankind  spread  not  from  one 
but  from  many  centres  over  the  globe ;  or  as  others 
say,  that  the  supply  of  links  which  are  at  present 
wanting  in  the  chain  of  animal  life  may  lead  to  new 
conclusions  respecting  the  origin  of  man.  Now 
let  it  be  granted  that  these  facts,  being  with  the 
past,  cannot  be  shown  in  the  same  palpable  and  evident 
manner  as  the  facts  of  chemistry  or  physiology  ;  and 
that  the  proof  of  some  of  them,  especially  of  those  last 
mentioned,  is  wanting  ;  still  it  is  a  false  policy  to  set 
up  inspiration  or  revelation  in  opposition  to  them,  a  '^"^ 
principle  which  can  have  no  influence  on  them  and 
should  be  rather  kept  out  of  their  way.  The  sciences 
of  geology  and  comparative  philology  are  steadily  gain- 
ing ground ;  many  of  the  guesses  of  twenty  years  ago 
have  become  certainties,  and  the  guesses  of  to-day  may 
hereafter  become  so.  Shall  w^e  peril  religion  on  the 
possibility  of  their  untruth  ?  on  such  a  cast  to  stake 


350  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scrijiture. 

the  life  of  man  implies  not  only  a  recklessness  of  facts, 
but  a  misunderstanding  of  the  nature  of  the  Gospel. 
If  it  is  fortunate  for  science,  it  is  perhaps  more  for- 
tunate for  Christian  truth,  that  the  admission  of  Gali- 
leo's discovery  has  for  ever  settled  the  principle  of  the 
relations  between  them. 

A  similar  train  of  thought  may  be  extended  to  the 
results  of  historical  inquiries.  These  results  can- 
not be  barred  by  the  dates  or  narrative  of  Scripture ; 
neither  should  they  be  made  to  wind  round  into  agree- 
ment with  them.  Again,  the  idea  of  inspiration  must 
expand  and  take  them  in.  Their  importance  in  a 
religious  point  of  view  is  not  that  they  impugn  or 
confirm  the  Jewish  history,  but  that  they  show  more 
clearly  the  purposes  of  God  towards  the  whole  human 
race.  The  recent  chronological  discoveries  from 
Egyptian  monuments  do  not  tend  to  overthrow  re- 
velation, nor  the  Ninevite  inscriptions  to  support  it. 
The  use  of  them  on  either  side  may  indeed  arouse  a 
popular  interest  in  them  ;  it  is  apt  to  turn  a  scientific 
inquiry  into  a  semi-religious  controversy.  And  to 
religion  either  use  is  almost  equally  injurious,  because 
seeming  to  rest  truths  important  to  human  life  on  the 
mere  accident  of  an  archaeological  discovery.  Is  it  to 
be  thought  that  Christianity  gains  anything  from  the 
deciphering  of  the  names  of  some  Assyrian  and  Ba- 
bylonian kings,  contemporaries  chiefly  with  the  later 
Jewish  history  ?  As  little  as  it  ought  to  lose  from  the 
appearance  of  a  contradictory  narrative  of  the  Exodus 
in  the  chamber  of  an  Egyptian  temple  of  the  year 
\  B.C.  1500.     This  latter  supposition  may  not  be  very 

v^  probable.  But  it  is  worth  wJiile  to  ask  ourselves  the 
question,  whether  we  can  be  right  in  maintaining  any 
view  of  religion  which  can  be  affected  by  such  a  j)ro- 
bability. 

It  will  be  a  further  assistance  in  the  consideration 

of  this  subject,  to  observe  that  the  interpretation  of 

A  Scripture  has  nothing  to  do  with  any  opinion  resj)ect- 

ing  its  origin.      The   meaning  of  Scripture   is   one 


On  the  liiferjjrefation  of  Ecrqjlure.  351 

tiling ;  the  inspiration  of  Scripture  is  another.  It  is 
conceivable  that  those  who  hold  the  most  different 
views  about  the  one,  may  be  able  to  agree  about  the 
other.  Rigid  upholders  of  the  verbal  inspiration  of 
Scripture,  and  those  who  deny  inspiration  altogether,  x 
may  nevertheless  meet  on  the  common  ground  of  the 
meaning  of  words.  If  the  term  inspiration  were  to 
fall  into  disuse,  no  fact  of  nature,  or  history,  or  lan- 
o-uan^e,  no  event  in  the  life  of  man,  or  dealing's  of  Grod 
with  him,  would  be  in  any  degree  altered.  The  word 
itself  is  but  of  yesterday,  not  found  in  the  earlier 
confessions  of  the  reformed  faith ;  the  difficulties  that 
have  arisen  about  it  are  only  two  or  three  centuries 
old.  Therefore  the  question  of  inspiration,  though  ^  j^ 
in  one  sense  important,  is  to  the  interpreter  as  though 
it  were  not  important ;  he  is  in  no  way  called  upon  to 
determine  a  matter  with  which  he  has  nothing  to  do, 
and  which  was  not  determined  by  fathers  of  the 
Church.  And  he  had  better  go  on  his  way  and  leave  the 
more  precise  definition  of  the  word  to  the  progress  of 
knowledge  and  the  results  of  the  study  of  Scripture, 
instead  of  entangling  himself  with  a  theory  about  it. 

It  is  one  evil  of  conditions  or  previous  suppositions 
in  the  study  of  Scripture,  that  the  assumption  of  them 
has  led  to  an  apologetic  temper  in  the  interpreters  of 
Scripture.  The  tone  of  apology  is  always  a  tone  of 
weakness  and  does  injury  to  a  good  cause.  It  is  the 
reverse  of  '  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth 
shall  make  you  free.'  It  is  hampered  with  the  neces- 
sity of  making  a  defence,  and  also  with  previous  de- 
fences of  the  same  side  ;  it  accepts,  with  an  excess  of 
reserve  and  caution,  the  truth  itself,  when  it  comes 
from  an  opposite  quarter.  Commentators  are  often 
more  occupied  with  the  proof  of  miracles  than  with 
the  declaration  of  life  and  immortality  ;  with  the  ful- 
filment of  the  details  of  prophecy  than  with  its  life 
'cind  power  ;  with  the  reconcilement  of  the  discrepan- 
cies in  the  narrative  of  the  infancy,  pointed  out  by 
Schleiermacher,  than  with  the  importance  of  the  great 


352  On  the  Inteiyretation  of  Sorijjture. 

event  of  the  appearance  of  the  Saviour — '  To  fids  end 
was  I  born  and  for  this  cause  came  Unto  the  world  that  I 
should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth'  The  same  tendency  is 
observable  also  in  reference  to  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
and  the  Epistles,  which  are  not  only  broug'ht  into 
harmony  with  each  other,  but  interpreted  with  a  re- 
ference to  the  traditions  of  existing  communions. 
The  natural  meaning  of  particular  expressions,  as  for 
example :  '  Why  are  they  then  baptized  for  the  dead' 
(i  Corinthians  xv.  29)?  or  the  words  'because  of  the 
angels'  (i  Corinthians  xi.  10);  or,  'this  generation 
shall  not  pass  away  until  all  these  things  be  fulfilled ' 
(Matthew  xxiv.  34) ;  or,  '  upon  this  rock  will  I  build 
my  Church,  (Matthew  xvi.  18),  is  set  aside  in  favour 
of  others,  wliicli,  however  improbable,  are  more  in 
accordance  with  preconceived  opinions,  or  seem  to  be 
more  worthy  of  the  Sacred  writers.  The  language, 
and  also  the  text,  are  treated  on  the  same  defensive 
and  conservative  principles.  The  received  translations 
of  Philippians  ii.  6  ('  Who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God'),  or 
of  Romans  iii.  25  ('  Whom  God  hath  set  forth  to 
be  a  propitiation  through  faith  in  his  blood'),  or 
Romans  xv.  6  ('  God,  even  the  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'),  though  erroneous,  are  not  given  up 
without  a  struggle;  the  i  Timothy  iii.  16,  and 
I  John  V.  7,  (the  three  witnesses),  though  the  first 
('God  manifest  in  the  flesh,'  92  for  02)  is  not  found 
in  the  best  manuscripts,  and  the  second  in  no  Greek 
manuscript  worth  speaking  of,  have  not  yet  disappeared 
from  the  editions  of  the  Greek  Testament  commonly 
in  use  in  England,  and  still  less  from  the  English 
translation.  An  English  commentator  who,  with 
Lachman  and  Tischendorf,  supported  also  by  the 
authority  of  Erasmus,  ventures  to  alter  the  punctua- 
tion of  the  doxology  in  Romans  ix.  5  ('  Who  is  over 
all  God  blessed  for  ever')  hardl3^  escapes  the  charge  of 
heresy.  That  in  most  of  these  cases  the  words  re- 
ferred to  have  a  direct  bearing  on  important  contro- 


On  the  Inierj)rctation  of  Scripture,  353 

versies  is  a  reason  not  for  retaininsr,  but  for  correctinir 
tliera. 

The  temper  of  accommodation  shows  itself  especially 
in  two  ways  :  first,  in  the  attempt  to  adapt  the  truths 
of  Scripture  to  the  doctrines  of  the  creeds  ;  secondl}^ 
in  the  adaptation  of  the  precepts  and  maxims  of 
Scripture  to  the  language  or  practice  of  our  own  age. 
Now  the  creeds  are  acknowledged  to  be  a  part  of 
Christianity  ;  they  stand  in  a  close  relation  to  the 
words  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles  ;  nor  can  it  be  said 
that  any  heterodox  formula  makes  a  nearer  approach 
to  a  simple  and  scriptural  rule  of  faith.  Neither  is 
anything  gained  by  contrasting  them  with  Scripture, 
in  which  the  germs  of  the  expressions  used  in  them 
are  sufficiently  apparent.  Yet  it  does  not  follow  that 
tliey  should  be  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  inter- 
preter. The  growth  of  ideas  in  the  interval  which 
separated  the  first  century  from  the  fourth  or  sixth 
makes  it  impossible  to  apply  the  language  of  the  one 
to  the  explanation  of  the  other.  Between  Scripture 
and  the  Nicene  or  Athanasian  Creed,  a  world  of  the 
understanding  comes  in — that  world  of  abstractions 
and  second  notions :  and  mankind  are  no  longer  at 
the  same  point  as  when  the  whole  of  Christianity  was 
contained  in  the  words,  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  mayest  be  saved,'  when  the  Gospel 
centred  in  the  attachment  to  a  living  or  recently  de- 
parted friend  and  Lord.  The  language  of  the  New 
Testament  is  the  first  utterance  and  consciousness  of 
the  mind  of  Christ ;  or  the  immediate  vision  of  the 
Word  of  life  (i  John  i.  i)  as  it  presented  itself  before 
the  eyes  of  his  first  followers,  or  as  the  sense  of  His 
truth  and  power  grew  upon  them  (Eomans  i.  3,  4)  ; 
the  other  is  the  result  of  three  or  four  centuries  of 
reflection  and  controversy.  And  although  this  last 
had  a  truth  suited  to  its  age,  and  its  technical  expres- 
sions have  sunk  deep  into  the  heart  of  the  human  race, 
it  is  not  the  less  unfitted  to  be  the  medium  by  the 

A    A 


354  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

lielp  of  wliicli  Scripture  is  to  be  explained.  If  the 
occurrence  of  the  phraseology  of  the  Nicene  age  in  a 
verse  of  the  Epistles  would  detect  the  spuriousness 
of  the  verse  in  which  it  was  found,  how  can  the 
Nicene  or  Athanasian  Creed  be  a  suitable  instru- 
ment for  the  interpretation  of  Scripture?  That  ad- 
vantage which  the  New  Testament  has  over  the 
teaching  of  the  Church,  as  representing  what  may  be 
termed  the  childhood  of  the  Gospel,  would  be  lost  if 
its  language  were  required  to  conform  to  that  of  the 
Creeds. 

To  attribute  to  St.  Paul  or  the  Twelve  the  abstract 
notion  of  Christian  truth,  which  afterwards  sprang  up  in 
the  Catholic  Church,  is  the  same  sort  of  anachronism  as 
to  attribute  to  them  a  system  of  philosophy.  It  is  the 
same  error  as  to  attribute  to  Homer  the  ideas  of  Thales 
or  Heraclitus,  or  to  Thales  the  more  developed  prin- 
ciples of  Aristotle  and  Plato.  Many  persons  who 
have  no  difficulty  in  tracing  the  growth  of  institutions, 
yet  seem  to  fail  in  recognising  the  more  subtle  pro- 
gress of  an  idea.  It  is  hard  to  imagine  the  absence  of 
conceptions  with  which  we  are  familiar;  to  go  back  to 
the  germ  of  what  we  know  only  in  maturity  ;  to  give 
up  what  has  grown  to  us,  and  become  a  part  of  our 
minds.  In  the  present  case,  however,  the  develop- 
ment is  not  difficult  to  prove.  The  statements  of 
Scripture  are  unaccountable  if  we  deny  it ;  the  silence 
of  Scripture  is  equally  unaccountable.  Absorbed  as 
St.  Paul  was  in  the  person  of  Christ  with  an  intensity 
of  faith  and  love  of  which  in  modern  days  and  at  this 
distance  of  time  we  can  scarcely  form  a  conception — 
high  as  he  raised  the  dignity  of  his  Lord  above  all 
things  in  heaven  and  earth — looking  to  Him  as  the 
Creator  of  all  things,  and  the  head  of  quick  and  dead, 
he  does  not  speak  of  Him  as  '  equal  to  the  Father,'  or  'of 
one  substance  with  the  Father.'  Much  of  the  language 
of  the  Epistles  (passages  for  example  such  as  Eomans 
i.  2;  Philippians  ii.  6)  would  lose  their  meaning  if  distri- 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  355 

biited  in  alternate  clauses  between  our  Lord's  humanity 
and  divinity.  Still  greater  difficulties  would  be  intro- 
duced into  the  Gospels  by  the  attempt  to  identify  them 
with  the  Creeds.  We  should  have  to  suppose  that 
He  was  and  was  not  tempted ;  that  when  He  prayed 
to  His  Father  He  prayed  also  to  Himself;  that  He 
knew  and  did  not  know  '  of  that  hour'  of  which  He  as 
well  as  the  angels  were  ignorant.  How  could  He  have 
said  '  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?' 
or,  '  Father,  if  it  be  possible  let  this  cup  pass  from  me.' 
How  could  He  have  doubted  whether  '  when  the  Son 
Cometh  he  shall  find  faith  upon  the  earth  ?'  These 
simple  and  touching  words  have  to  be  taken  out  of 
their  natural  meaning  and  connexion  to  be  made  the 
theme  of  apologetic  discourses  if  we  insist  on  recon- 
ciling them  with  the  distinctions  of  later  ages. 

Neither,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  would  the 
substitution  of  any  other  precise  or  definite  rule  of 
faith,  as  for  example  the  Unitarian,  be  more  favourable 
to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  How  could  the 
Evangelist  St.  John  have  said  *  the  Word  was  God,' 
or  '  God  was  the  Word '  (according  to  either  mode  of 
translating),  or  how  would  our  Lord  Himself  have 
said, '  T  and  the  Father  are  one,'  if  either  had  meant  that 
Christ  was  a  mere  man,  '  a  prophet  or  as  one  of  the 
prophets  ?'  No  one  who  takes  words  in  their  natural 
sense,  can  suppose  that,  'in  the  beginning'  (John  i.  i) 
means,  'at  the  commencement  of  the  ministry  of  Christ,' 
or  that  '  the  Word  was  with  God,'  only  relates  '  to  the 
withdrawal  of  Christ  to  commune  with  God,'  or 
that  '  the  Word  is  said  to  be  God,'  in  the  ironical 
sense  of  John  x.  '>,^.  But  while  venturing  to  turn  one 
eye  on  these  (perhaps  obsolete)  perversions  of  the 
meanings  of  words  in  old  opponents,  we  must  not 
forget  also  to  keep  the  other  open  to  our  own.  The 
object  of  the  preceding  remark  is  not  to  enter  into 
controversy  with  them,  or  to  balance  the  statements  of 
one  side  with  those  of  the  other,  but  only  to  point  out  the 

A  A  2 


356  On  the  Interpretafmn  of  Scrijjture. 

error  of  introducing  into  tlie  interpretation  of  Scripture 
y-    the  notions  of  a  later  age  wliicli  is  common  alike  to  us 
and  them. 

The  other  kind  of  accommodation  which  was  alluded 
t-^.    to  above  arises  out  of  the  difference  between  the  social 
and  ecclesiastical  state  of  the  world,  as  it  exists  in 
actual  fact,  and  the  ideal  which  the  Gospel  presents  to 
us.     An  ideal  is,  by  its  very  nature,  far  removed  from 
actual  life.     It  is  enshrined  not  in  the  material  things 
of  the  external  world,  but  in  the  heart  and  conscience. 
<  Mankind    are    dissatisfied    at    this   separation ;     they 
fancy   that  they   can  make  the   inward  kingdom  an 
outward  one   also.      But  this  is  not  possible.     The 
frame  of  civilization,  that  is  to  say,  institutions  and 
laws,  the  usages  of  business,  the   customs  of  society, 
these  are  for  the  most  part  mechanical,  capable  only 
in    a  certain  degree   of  a  higher   and  spiritual  life. 
Christian  motives  have  never  existed  in  such  strength, 
as  to  make  it  safe  or  possible  to  entrust  them  with  the 
preservation    of   social    order.      Other    interests    are 
therefore  provided  and    other  principles,   often  inde- 
pendent   of    the   teaching   of  the    Gospel,    or    even 
apparently  at  variance  with  it.     '  If  a  man  smite  thee 
on  the  right  cheek  turn  to  him  the  other  also,'  is  not 
a  regulation  of  police  but  an  ideal  rule  of  conduct,  not 
to  be  explained  away,  but  rarely  if  ever  to  be  literally 
acted  upon  in  a  civilized  country  ;  or  rather  to  be  acted 
upon  always  in  spirit,  yet  not  without  a  reference  to 
the  interests  of  the  community.     If  a  missionary  were 
to  endanger  the  public  peace  and  come  like  the  Apostles 
saying,  '  I  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  man,'  it  is 
obvious  that  the  most   Christian  of  magistrates  could 
not  allow  him  (say  in  India  or  New  Zealand)  to  shield 
himself  under  the  authority  of  these  words.     For  in 
religion  as  in  philosophy  there  are  two  opposite  poles  ; 
of  truth  and  action,  of  doctrine  and  practice,  of  idea 
and  fact.     The  image  of  God  in  Christ  is  over  against 
the  necessities  of  human  nature  and  the  state  of  man 


On  the  Inlerpretaiion  of  Scrijjture.  357 

on  earth.  Our  Lord  himself  recognises  this  distinction, 
when  he  says,  '  Of  whom  do  the  kings  of  the  earth 
gather  tribute  ?'  and  '  then  are  the  children  free.' 
(Matth.  xvii.  26.)  And  again,  '  Notwithstanding  lest 
we  should  oftend  them,'  &c.  Here  are  contrasted 
what  may  be  termed  the  two  poles  of  idea  and  fact. 

All  men  appeal  to  Scripture,  and  desire  to  draw  the 
authority  of  Scripture  to  their  side ;  its  voice  may  be 
heard  in  the  turmoil  of  political  strife ;  a  merely 
verbal  similarity,  the  echo  of  a  word,  has  weight  in 
the  determination  of  a  controversy.  Such  appeals  are 
not  to  be  met  always  by  counter-appeals ;  they  rather 
lead  to  the  consideration  of  deeper  questions  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  Scripture  is  to  be  applied.  In  what 
relation  does  it  stand  to  actual  life  ?  Is  it  a  law,  or 
only  a  spirit?  for  nations,  or  for  individuals ?  to  be 
enforced  generally,  or  in  details  also  ?  Are  its  maxims 
to  be  modified  by  experience,  or  acted  upon  in  defiance 
of  experience  ?  Are  the  accidental  circumstances  of 
the  first  believers  to  become  a  rule  for  us  ?  Is  every- 
thing, in  short,  done  or  said  by  our  Saviour  and  His 
Apostles,  to  be  regarded  as  a  precept  or  example  which 
is  to  be  followed  on  all  occasions  and  to  last  for  all 
time  ?  That  can  hardly  be,  consistently  with  the 
chang-es  of  human  things.  It  would  be  a  rigid  skeleton 
of  Christianity  (not  the  image  of  Christ),  to  which 
society  and  politics,  as  well  as  the  lives  of  individuals, 
would  be  conformed.  It  would  be  the  oldness  of 
the  letter,  on  which  the  world  would  be  stretched ; 
not  '  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life'  which  St.  Paul  teaches. 
The  attempt  to  force  politics  and  law  into  the  frame- 
work of  religion  is  apt  to  drive  us  up  into  a  corner, 
in  which  the  great  principles  of  truth  and  justice 
have  no  longer  room  to  make  themselves  felt.  It 
is  better,  as  well  as  safer,  to  take  the  liberty  with 
which  Christ  has  made  us  free.  For  our  Lord  Him- 
self has  left  behind  Him  words,  which  contain  a 
principle  large    enough   to    admit   all   the    forms  of 


358  071  the  hiterpretation  of  Scripture. 

society  or  of  life ;  '  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,' 
(John  xviii,  36.)  It  does  not  come  into  collision 
with  pohtics  or  knowledg-e ;  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Roman  government  or  the  Jewish  priesthood,  or 
with  corresponding  institutions  in  the  present  day  ; 
it  is  a  counsel  of  perfection,  and  has  its  dwelling-place 
in  the  heart  of  man.  That  is  the  real  solution  of 
questions  of  Church  and  State  ;  all  else  is  relative  to 
the  history  or  circumstances  of  particular  nations. 
That  is  the  answer  to  a  doubt  which  is  also  raised 
respecting  the  obligation  of  the  letter  of  the  Gospel 
on  individual  Christians.  But  this  inwardness  of  the 
words  of  Christ  is  what  few  are  able  to  receive  ;  it  is 
easier  to  apply  them  superficially  to  tilings  without, 
than  to  be  a  partaker  of  them  from  within.  And  false 
and  miserable  applications  of  them  are  often  made, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  becomes  the  tool  of  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world. 

The  neglect  of  this  necessary  contrast  between  the 
ideal  and  the  actual  has  had  a  twofold  effect  on  the 
Interpretation  of  Scripture.  It  has  led  to  an  unfair 
appropriation  of  some  portions  of  Scripture  and  an 
undue  neglect  of  others.  The  letter  is  in  many  cases 
really  or  apparently  in  harmony  with  existing 
practices,  or  opinions,  or  institutions.  In  other 
cases  it  is  far  removed  from  them;  it  often  seems 
as  if  the  world  would  come  to  an  end  before  the 
words  of  Scripture  could  be  realized.  The  twofold 
effect  just  now  mentioned,  corresponds  to  these  two 
classes.  Some  texts  of  Scripture  have  been  eagerly 
appealed  to  and  made  (in  one  sense)  too  much  of; 
they  have  been  taken  by  force  into  the  service  of 
received  opinions  and  beliefs  ;  texts  of  the  other  class 
have  been  either  unnoticed  or  explained  away.  Con- 
sider, for  example,  the  extraordinary  and  unreasonable 
importance  attached  to  single  words,  sometimes  of 
doubtful  meaning,  in  reference  to  any  of  the  following- 
subjects: — I,  Divorce;  2,  Marriage  with  a  Wife's  Sister ; 


0)1  the  Interp'ciation  of  Scripture.  359 

3,  Inspiration ;  4,  tlie  Personality  of  tlie  Holy  Spirit ; 
5,  Infant  Baptism  ;  6,  Episcopacy  ;  7,  Divine  Right  of 
Kings ;  8,  Original  Sin.  There  is,  indeed,  a  kind  of 
mystery  in  the  way  in  which  the  chance  words  of  a 
simple  narrative,  the  occurrence  of  some  accidental 
event,  the  use  even  of  a  figure  of  speech,  or  a  mis- 
translation of  a  word  in  Latin  or  English,  have  affected 
the  thouo'hts  of  future  ag-es  and  distant  countries. 
Nothing  so  slight  that  it  has  not  been  caught  at ; 
nothing  so  plain  that  it  may  not  be  explained  away. 
What  men  have  brought  to  the  text  they  have  also 
found  there ;  what  has  received  no  interpretation  or 
witness,  either  in  the  customs  of  the  Church  or  in  '  the 
thoughts  of  many  hearts,'  is  still '  an  unknown  tongue' 
to  them.  It  is  with  Scripture  as  with  oratory,  its  ^ 
effect  partly  depends  on  the  preparation  in  the  mind  ^ 
or  in  circumstances  for  the  reception  of  it.  There  is 
no  use  of  Scripture,  no  quotation  or  even  misquotation 
of  a  word  which  is  not  a  power  in  the  world,  when  it 
embodies  the  spirit  of  a  great  movement  or  is  echoed 
by  the  voice  of  a  large  party. 

On  the  first  of  the  subjects  referred  to  above,  it  is 
argued  from  Scripture  that  adulterers  should  not  be 
allowed  to  marry  again ;  and  the  point  of  the  argu- 
ment turns  on  the  question  whether  the  words  (e/croc 
Xoyou  TTopi'iiag)  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  which 
occur  in  the  first  clause  of  an  important  text  on  mar.- 
riage,  were  designedly  or  accidentally  omitted  in  the 
second.  (Matth.  v.  32  ;  'Whosoever  shall  put  away  his 
wife,  saving  for  the  cause  of  fornication,  causeth  her  to 
commit  adulter}^,  and  whosoever  shall  marry  her  that 
is  divorced  committeth  adultery  ;'  compare  also  Mark 
X.  II,  12).  2.  The  Scripture  argument  in  the  second 
instance  is  almost  invisible,  being  drawn  from  a  pas- 
sage the  meaning  of  which  is  irrelevant  (Lev.  xviii. 
18,  'Neither  shalt  thou  take  a  wife  to  her  sister 
to  vex  her,  to  uncover  her  nakedness  beside  the  other 
in  her  lifetime') ;  and  transferred  from  the  Polygamy 


360  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scrijjture. 

which  prevailed  in  Eastern  countries  3000  years  ago 
to  the  Monogamy  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the 
Christian  Church,  in  spite  of  the  custom  and  tradition 
of  the  Jews  and  the  analogy  of  the  brother's  widow, 

3.  In  the  third  case  the  word  (^eottj'cuo-toc)  '  given  by 
inspiration  of  God'  is  spoken  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  is  assumed  to  apply  to  the  New,  including  that 
Epistle  in  which  the  expression  occurs  (2  Tim.  iii.  16.) 

4.  In  the  fourth  example  the  words  used  are  mys- 
terious (John  xiv.  26  ;  xvi.  15),  and  seem  to  come  out 
of  the  depths  of  a  divine  consciousness ;  they  have 
sometimes,  however,  received  a  more  exact  meaning 
than  they  could  truly  bear ;  what  is  spoken  in  a  figure 
is  construed  with  the  severity  of  a  logical  statement, 
while  passages  of  an  opposite  tenour  are  overlooked  or 
set  aside.  5.  In  the  fifth  instance,  the  mere  mention 
of  a  family  of  a  jailer  at  Philippi  who  was  baptized 
('  he  and  all  his,'  Acts  xvi.  33),  has  led  to  the  inference 
that  in  this  family  there  were  probably  young  children, 
and  hence  that  infant  baptism  is,  first,  permissive, 
secondly,  obligatory.  6.  In  the  sixth  case  the  chief 
stress  of  the  argument  from  Scripture  turns  on  the 
occurrence  of  the  word  {e7r'i<jKoirog)  bishop,  in  the 
Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus,  which  is  assisted  by  a 
supposed  analogy  between  the  position  of  the  Apostles 
and  of  their  successors ;  although  the  term  bishop  is 
clearly  used  in  the  passages  referred  to  as  well  as  in 
other  parts  of  the  New  Testament  indistinguishably 
from  Presbyter,  and  the  magisterial  authority  of 
bishops  in  after  ages  is  unlike  rather  than  like  the 
personal  authority  of  the  Apostles  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Gospel.  The  further  development  of  Episcopacy 
into  Apostolical  succession  has  often  been  rested  on 
the  promise,  '  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world.'  7.  In  the  seventh  case  the  pre- 
cepts of  order  which  are  addressed  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  '  fifth  monarchy  men  of  those  days,'  are  transferred 
to  a  duty  of  obedience  to  hereditary  princes  ;  the  fact 


On  the  Iiiterjyretation  of  Scrip  I  are.  361 

of  tlie  house  of  David,  '  the  Lord's  anointed,'  sittini^ 
on  the  throne  of  Israel  is  converted  into  a  principle 
for  all  times  and  countries.  And  the  higher  lesson 
which  our  Saviour  teaches  :  '  Eender  unto  Caesar  the 
things  which  are  Caesar's,'  that  is  to  say, '  Hender  unto 
all  their  due,  and  to  God  above  all,'  is  spoiled  by  being 
made  into  a  precept  of  political  subjection.  8.  Lastly, 
the  justice  of  God  '  who  rewardeth  every  man  according 
to  his  works,'  and  the  Christian  scheme  of  redemption 
has  been  staked  on  two  figurative  expressions  of  St. 
Paul  to  which  there  is  no  parallel  in  any  other  part  of 
Scripture  (i  Corinthians  xv.  23.  '  For  as  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive,'  and  the 
corresponding  passage  in  Romans  v.  12);  notwith- 
standing the  declaration  of  the  Old  Testament  as  also 
of  the  New,  '  Every  soul  shall  bear  its  own  iniquity,' 
and  '  neither  this  man  sinned  nor  his  parents.'  It  is 
not  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  engage  further  in 
the  matters  of  dispute  which  have  arisen  by  the  way 
in  attempting  to  illustrate  the  general  argument.  Yet 
to  avoid  misconception  it  may  be  remarked,  that  many 
of  the  principles,  rules,  or  truths  mentioned,  as  for 
example.  Infant  Baptism,  or  the  Episcopal  Form  of 
Church  Government,  have  sufficient  grounds ;  the 
weakness  is  the  attempt  to  derive  them  from  Scripture. 
With  this  minute  and  rigid  enforcement  of  the 
words  of  Scripture  in  passages  where  the  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  them  either  really  or  apparently  agree  with 
received  opinions  or  institutions,  there  remains  to  be 
contrasted  the  neglect,  or  in  some  instances  the  mis- 
interpretation of  other  words  which  are  not  equally 
in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  In  many  of 
our  Lord's  discourses  he  speaks  of  the  '  blessedness  of 
poverty  :'  of  the  hardness  which  they  that  have  ri(;hes 
will  experience  '  in  attaining  eternal  life.'  '  It  is  easier 
for  a  camel  to  go  through  a  needle's  eye,'  and  '  Son, 
thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy  good  things,'  and 
again  'One  thing  thou  lackest,  go  sell  all  that  thou  hast.' 


362  On  the  Liicrpreiation  of  Scrijjture. 

Precepts  like  these  do  not  appeal  to  our  own  expe- 
rience of  life ;  they  are  unlike  anything  that  we  see 
around  us  at  the  present  day,  even  among  good  men  ; 
to  some  among  us  they  will  recall  the  remarkable  say- 
ing of  Lessing, — '  that  the  Christian  religion  had  been 
tried  for  eighteen  centuries ;  the  religion  of  Christ  re- 
mained to  be  tried.'  To  take  them  literally  would  be 
injurious  to  ourselves  and  to  society,  (at  least,  so  we 
think).  Eeligious  sects  or  orders  who  have  seized 
this  aspect  of  Christianity  have  come  to  no  good,  and 
have  often  ended  in  extravagance.  It  will  not  do  to 
go  into  the  world  saying,  '  Woe  unto  you,  ye  rich 
men,'  or   on  entering  a  noble  mansion  to   repeat  the 

.^-  denunciations  of  the  prophet  about  '  cedar  and  ver- 
milion,' or  on  being  shown  the  prospect  of  a  magni- 
ficent estate  to  cry  out,  '  Woe  unto  them  that  lay  field 
to  field  that  they  may  be  placed  alone  in  the  midst  of 
the  earth.'  Times  have  altered,  ^ve  sa}'",  since  these  de- 
-  -  nunciations  were  uttered ;  what  appeared  to  the  Prophet 
or  Apostle  a  violation  of  the  appointment  of  Providence 
has  now  become  a  part  of  it.  It  will  not  do  to  make  a 
great  supper,  and  mingle  at  the  same  board  the  two 
ends  of  society,  as  modern  phraseology  calls  them, 
fetching  in  '  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the 
blind,'  to  fill  the  vacant  places  of  noble  guests. 
That  would  be  eccentric  in  modern  times,  and  even 
hurtful.  Neither  is  it  suitable  for  us  to  wash  one 
another's  feet,  or  to  perform  any  other  menial  office, 
because  our  Lord  set  us  the  example.  The  customs 
of  society  do  not  admit  it ;  no  good  would  be 
done  by  it,  and  singularity  is  of  itself  an  evil. 
Well,  then,  are  the  precepts  of  Christ  not  to  be 
obeyed?  Perhaps  in  their  fullest  sense  they  cannot 
be  obeyed.  But  at  any  rate  they  are  not  to  be  ex- 
plained away ;    the  standard  of  Christ  is   not  to  be 

^  lowered  to  ordinary  Christian  life,  because  ordinary 
Christian  life  cannot  rise,  even  in  good  men,  to  the 
standard  of   Christ.      And  there  may  be  '  standing 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scrijjtwre.  363 

among  us'  some  one  in  ten  thousand  '  whom  we  know 
not/  in  whom  there  is  such  a  divine  union  of  charity 
and  prudence  that  he  is  most  blest  in  the  entire  fulfil- 
ment of  the  precept — '  Go  sell  all  that  thou  hast,' — 
which  to  obey  literally  in  other  cases  would  be  evil, 
and  not  good.  Many  there  have  been,  doubtless  (not 
one  or  two  only),  who  have  given  all  that  they  had 
on  earth  to  their  family  or  friends — the  poor  servant 
'  casting  her  two  mites  into  the  treasury,'  denying 
herself  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life  for  the  sake  of  an 
erring  parent  or  brother ;  that  is  not  probably  an  un- 
common case,  and  as  near  an  approach  as  in  this  life 
we  make  to  heaven.  And  there  may  be  some  one  or 
two  rare  natures  in  the  world  in  whom  there  is  such 
a  divine  courtesy,  such  a  gentleness  and  dignity  of 
soul,  that  differences  of  rank  seem  to  vanish  be- 
fore them,  and  they  look  upon  the  face  of  others, 
even  of  their  own  servants  and  dependents,  only 
as  they  are  in  the  sight  of  God  and  will  be  in 
His  kingdom.  And  there  may  be  some  tender  and 
delicate  woman  among  us,  who  feels  that  she  has  a 
divine  vocation  to  fulfil  the  most  repulsive  offices 
towards  the  dying  inmates  of  a  hospital,  or  the  soldier 
perishing  in  a  foreign  land.  Whether  such  examples 
of  self-sacrifice  are  good  or  evil,  must  depend,  not 
altogether  on  social  or  economical  principles,  but  on 
the  spirit  of  those  who  offer  them,  and  the  power 
which  they  have  in  themselves  of  '  making  all  things 
kin.'  And  even  if  the  ideal  itself  were  not  carried  out 
by  us  in  practice,  it  has  nevertheless  what  may  be 
termed  a  truth  of  feeling.  'Let  them  that  have 
riches  be  as  though  they  had  them  not.'  '  Let  the  rich 
man  wear  the  load  lightly  ;  he  will  one  day  fold  them 
up  as  a  vesture.'  Let  not  the  refinement  of  society 
make  us  forget  that  it  is  not  the  refined  only  who  are 
received  into  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  nor  the  daintiness 
of  life  hide  from  us  the  bodily  evils  of  which  the  rich 
man  and  Lazarus  are  alike  heirs.     Thoughts  such  as 


364  On  the  Interpretation  of  8c rijjiure. 

these  have  the  power  to  reunite  us  to    our  fellow- 
creatures  from  whom  the  accidents  of  birth,  position, 
wealth  have  separated  us ;    they    soften    our   hearts 
towards  them,   when  divided  not  only   by  vice  and 
ignorance,  but  what  is  even  a  greater  barrier,  difference 
of  manners  and  associations.     For  if  there  be  anything 
in  our  own  fortune  superior  to  that  of  others,  instead 
of  idolizing  or  cherishing  it  in  the  blood,  the  Gospel 
would  have  us  cast  it  from  us ;  and  if  there  be  an}'- 
thing  mean  or  despised  in  those  with  whom  we  have 
to  do,  the  Gospel  would  have  us  regard  such  as  friends 
and  brethren,  yea,  even  as  having  the  person  of  Christ. 
Another  instance  of  apparent,  if  not  real  neglect  of 
the  precepts   of  Scripture,  is  furnished  by  the   com- 
mandment   against    swearing.       No    precept    about 
i      divorce  is  so  plain,  so  universal,  so  exclusive  as  this  ; 
'  Swear  not  at  all.'     Yet  we  all  know  how  the  custom 
of  Christian  countries   has  modified  this  *  counsel  of 
perfection'  which  was  uttered  by  the  Saviour.     This 
is  the  more  remarkable  because  in  this  case  the  precept 
is  not,  as  in  the  former,  practically  impossible  of  ful- 
filment or  even  difiicult.     And  yet  in  this   instance 
again,  the  body  who  have  endeavoured  to  follow  more 
nearl}^  the  letter  of  our  Lord's  commandment,  seem  to 
have  gone  against  the  common  sense  of  the  Christian 
world.     Or  to  add  one  more  example  :  Who,  that  hears 
of  the  Sabbatarianism,  as  it  is  called,  of  some  Protestant 
countries,  would  imagine  thatthe  Author  of  our  religion 
had  cautioned  his  disciples,  not  against  the  violation 
of  the  Sabbath,  but  only  against  its  formal  and  Phari- 
saical observance;  or  that  the  chiefest  of  the  Apostles 
had  warned  the  Colossians  to  '  Let  no  man  judge  them 
inrespectof  thenewmoon,orof  thesabbath-days.'  (ii.  16.) 
The  neglect  of  another  class  of  passag^es  is  even 
more  surprising,  the  precepts  contained  in  tJlem  being 
V,-  quite  practicable   and  in  harmony  with  the  existing 
'"   state   of  the   world.     In   this  instance  it  seems  as  if 
religious  teachers  had  failed  to  gather  those  principles 


On  the  Intei'prefation  of  Scr'qjture.  3G5 

of  whicli  they  stood  most  in  need.      '  Tliink  ye  that 
those  eighteen  upon  whom  the  tower  of  Siloam  fell  ?' 
is  the  characteristic  lesson  of  the  Grospel  on  the  occasion 
of  an}^  sudden  visitation.     Yet  it  is  another  reading 
of  such  calamities  which  is  commonly  insisted  upon. 
The  observation  is  seldom  made  respecting  the  parable 
of  the  good  Samaritan,  that  the  true  neighbour  is  also 
a  person  of  a  different  religion.     The  words,  '  Forbid 
him  not :  for  there  is  no  man  which  shall  do  a  miracle  in 
my  name,  that  can  lightly  speak  evil  of  me,'  are  often 
said  to  have  no  application  to  sectarian  differences  in 
the  present  day,  when  the  Church  is  established  and 
miracles  have  ceased.     The  conduct  of  our  Lord  to  the 
woman  taken  in  adultery,  though  not  intended  for  our 
imitation  always,  yet  affords  a  painful  contrast  to  the 
excessive  severity  with  which  even  a  Christian  society 
punishes  the  errors  of  women.  The  boldness  with  which 
St.  Paul  applies  the  principle  of  individual  judgment, 
'  Let  every  man  l3e  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind,'  as 
exhibited  also  in  the  words  quoted  above,  'Let  no  man 
judge  yon  in  respect  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sab- 
batli-days,'  is  far  greater  than  would  be  allowed  in  the 
]iresent  age.     Lastly,  that  the  tenet  of  the  damnation  of 
the  heathen  should  ever  have  prevailed  in  the  Christian 
world,  or  that  the  damnation  of  Catholics  should  have 
been  a  received  opinion  among  Protestants,  implies  a 
strange  forgetfulness  of  such  passages  as  Eomans  ii. 
1-16.      'Who  rewardeth  every  man  according  to  hjs 
work,'  and  '  When  the  Gentiles,  which  know  not  the 
law,  do  by  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law,' 
&c.     What  a  difference  between  the  simple  statement 
which  the  Apostle   makes  of  the  justice  of  God  and 
the  '  uncovenanted  mercies'   or  '  invincible  ignorance' 
of  theologians  half  reluctant  to  give  up,  yet  afraid  to 
maintain  the  advantage  of  denying  salvation  to  those 
who  are  '  extra  palum  Ecclesice  t 

The    same   habit  of   silence   or    misinterpretation 
extends  to  words  or  statements  of  Scripture  in  which 


366  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

doctrines  are  thought  to  be  interested.  When  main- 
taining the  Athanasian  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  we  do 
not  readily  recall  the  verse,  '  of  that  hour  knoweth  no 
man,  no  not  the  Angels  of  Grod,  neither  the  Son,  but  the 
Father.'  (Mark  xiii.  32.)  The  temper  or  feeling  whichled 
St.  Ambrose  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of  the  words 
marked  in  italics,  leads  Christians  in  our  own  day  to 
pass  them  over.  We  are  scarcely  just  to  the  Mille- 
narians  or  to  those  who  maintain  the  continuance  of 
miracles  or  spiritual  gifts  in  the  Christian  Church,  in 
not  admitting  the  degree  of  support  which  is  afforded 
to  their  views  by  many  passages  of  Scripture.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  the  Predestinarian  controversy; 
the  Calvin ist  is  often  hardly  dealt  with,  in  being 
deprived  of  his  real  standing  ground  in  the  third  and 
ninth  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Eomans.  And  the 
Protestant  who  thinks  himself  bound  to  prove  from 
Scripture  the  very  details  of  doctrine  or  discipline  which 
are  maintained  in  his  Church,  is  often  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  harsh  methods,  and  sometimes  to  deny  ap- 
pearances which  seem  to  favour  some  particular  tenet  of 
Eoman  Catholicism.  (Matthew  xvi.  18,  19;  xviii.  18; 
I  Cor.  iii.  15.)  The  Roman  Catholic,  on  the  other  hand, 
scarcely  observes  that  nearly  all  the  distinctive  articles 
of  his  creed  are  wanting  in  the  New  Testament ;  the 
Calvinist  in  fact  ignores  almost  the  whole  of  the  sacred 
volume  for  the  sake  of  a  few  verses.  The  truth  is, 
that  in  seeking  to  prove  our  own  opinions  out  of 
Scripture,  we  are  constantly  falling  into  the  common 
fallacy  of  opening  our  eyes  to  one  class  of  facts  and 
closing  them  to  another.  The  favourite  verses  shine 
like  stars,  while  the  rest  of  the  page  is  thrown  into 
the  shade. 

Nor  indeed  is  it  easy  to  say  what  is  the  meaning  of 
^ '  proving  a  doctrine  from   Scripture.'      For  when  we 
demand  logical  equivalents  and  similarity  of  circum- 
stances,  when    we    balance    adverse    statements,   St 
James  and  St.  Paul,  the  New  Testament  with  the  Old, 


On  the  Literpretation  of  Scripture.  8G7 

it  will  be  liard  to  demonstrate  from  Scripture  any  com- 
plex system  either  of  doctrine  or  practice.  The  Bible 
is  not  a  book  of  statutes  in  which  words  have  been 
chosen  to  cover  the  multitude  of  cases,  but  in  the 
greater  portion  of  it,  especially  the  Gospels  and  Epistles, 
'  like  a  man  talking  to  his  friend.'  Nay,  more,  it  is  a 
book  written  in  the  East,  which  is  in  some  degree 
liable  to  be  misunderstood,  because  it  speaks  the  lan- 
guage and  has  the  feeling  of  Eastern  lands.  Nor  can 
we  readily  determine  in  explaining  the  words  of  our 
Lord  or  of  St.  Paul,  how  much  (even  of  some  of  the 
passages  just  quoted)  is  to  be  attributed  to  Oriental 
modes  of  speech.  Expressions  which  would  be  regarded 
as  rhetorical  exaggerations  in  the  Western  world  are 
the  natural  vehicles  of  thought  to  an  Eastern  people. 
How  great  then  must  be  the  confusion  where  an 
attempt  is  made  to  draw  out  these  Oriental  modes 
with  the  severity  of  a  philosophical  or  legal  argument ! 
Is  it  not  such  a  use  of  the  words  of  Christ  which  He 
himself  rebukes  when  He  says?  '  It  is  the  spirit  that 
quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  nothing.'  (John  vi. 
52,  63.) 

There  is  a  further  way  in  which  the  language  of 
creeds  and  liturgies  as  well  as  the  ordinary  theological 
use  of  terms  exercises  a  disturbing  influence  on  the 
interpretation  of  Scripture.  Words  which  occur  in 
Scripture  are  singled  out  and  incorporated  in  systems, 
like  stones  taken  out  of  an  old  building  and  put  into 
a  new  one.  They  acquire  a  technical  meaning  more 
or  less  divergent  from  the  original  one.  It  is  obvious 
that  their  use  in  Scripture,  and  not  their  later  and 
technical  sense,  must  furnish  the  rule  of  interpretation. 
We  should  not  have  recourse  to  the  meaning  of  a 
word  in  Polybius,  for  the  explanation  of  its  use  in 
Plato,  or  to  the  turn  of  a  sentence  in  Lycophron,  to 
illustrate  a  construction  of  ^Eschylus.  It  is  the  same 
kind  of  anachronism  which  would  interpret  Scripture 
by  the  scholastic  or  theological  use  of  the  language  of 


3CS  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripttire. 

Scripture.  It  is  remarkable  that  tins  use  is  indeed 
partial,  that  is  to  say  it  affects  one  class  of  words  and 
not  another.  Love  and  truth,  for  example,  have  never 
been  theological  terms ;  grace  and  faith,  on  the 
other  hand,  always  retain  an  association  with  the 
Pelagian  or  Lutheran  controversies.  Justification  and 
inspiration  are  derived  from  verbs  which  occur  in 
Scripture,  and  the  later  substantive  has  clearly  affected 
the  meaning  of  the  original  verb  or  verbal  in  the 
places  where  they  occur.  The  remark  miglit  be  further 
illustrated  by  the  use  of  Scriptural  language  respecting 
the  Sacraments,  which  has  also  had  a  reflex  influence 
on  its  interpretation  in  many  passages  of  Scripture, 
especially  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  John.  (John  iii.  5 ;  vi. 
56,  &c.)  Minds  which  are  familiar  with  the  mystical 
doctrine  of  the  Sacraments  seem  to  see  a  reference  to 
them  in  almost  every  place  in  the  Old  Testament  as 
well  as  in  the  New,  in  which  the  words  '  water,'  or 
'  bread  and  wine'  may  happen  to  occur. 
t  Other  questions  meet  us  on  the  threshold,  of  a  differ- 
ent kind,  which  also  affect  the  interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  therefore  demand  an  answer.     Is  it  admitted 

■)^  that  the  Scripture  has  one  and  only  one  true  meaning? 
Or  are  we  to  follow  the  fathers  into  mystical  and 
allegorical  explanations?  or  with  the  majority  of 
modern  interpreters  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  double 
senses  of  prophecy,  and  the  symbolism  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  law  ?      In  either  case,  we  assume  what  can 

J  never  be  proved,  and  an  instrument  is  introduced  of 
such  subtlety  and  pliability  as  to  make  the  Scriptures 
mean  anything — '  Gallus  in  campanili'  as  the  Wal- 
denses  described  it ;  '  the  weathercock  on  the  church 
tower,'  which  is  turned  hither  and  thither  bj"  every 
wind  of  doctrine.  That  the  present  age  has  grown 
out  of  the  mystical  methods  of  the  early  fathers  is  a 
part  of  its  intellectual  state.  No  one  will  now  seek 
to  find  hidden  meanings  in  tlie  scarlet  thread  of  Eahab, 
or  the  number  of  Abraham's  followers,  or  in  the  little 


On  the  luierjyretaiion  of  Scripture.  309 

circumstance  mentioned  after  tlie  resurrection  of  the 
Saviour  that  St.  Peter  was  the  first  to  enter  the  sepul- 
chre. To  most  educated  persons  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  these  applications  of  Scripture  appear  foolish. 
Yet  it  is  rather  the  excess  of  the  method  which  pro- 
vokes a  smile  than  the  method  itself.  For  many 
remains  of  the  mystical  interpretation  exist  among  our- 
selves ;  it  is  not  the  early  fathers  only  who  have  read  the 
Bible  crosswise,  or  deciphered  it  as  a  book  of  symbols. 
And  the  uncertainty  is  the  same  in  any  part  of  Scrip- 
ture if  there  is  a  departure  from  the  plain  and  obvious 
meaning.  If,  for  example,  we  alternate  the  verses  in 
which  oui'  Lord  speaks  of  the  last  things  between 
the  day  of  judgment  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem ; 
or,  in  the  elder  prophecies,  which  are  the  counterparts 
of  these,makea  corresponding  division  between  the  tem- 
poral and  the  spiritual  Israel ;  or  again  if  we  attribute 
to  the  details  of  the  Mosaical  ritual  a  reference  to  the 
New  Testament;  or,  once  more,  supposing  the  passage 
of  the  Eed  Sea  to  be  regarded  not  merely  as  a  figure 
of  baptism,  but  as  a  pre-ordained  type,  the  principle 
is  conceded ;  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  scarlet 
thread  of  Eahab  should  not  receive  the  explanation 
given  to  it  by  Clement.  A  little  more  or  a  little  less 
of  the  method  does  not  make  tlie  difference  between 
certainty  and  uncertainty  in  the  interpretation  of 
Scripture.  In  whatever  degree  it  is  practised  it  is 
equally  incapable  of  being  reduced  to  any  rule ;  it  is 
the  interpreter's  fancy,  and  is  likely  to  be  not  less  but 
more  dangerous  and  extravagant  when  it  adds  the 
charm  of  authority  from  its  use  in  past  ages. 

The  question  which  has  been  suggested  runs  up  into 
a  more  general  one,  '  the  relation  iDctween  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.'  For  the  Old  Testament  will  receive 
a  different  meaning  accordingly  as  it  is  explained  from 
itself  or  from  the  New.  In  the  first  case  a  careful 
and  conscientious  study  of  each  one  for  itself  is  all 
that  is  required;  in  the  second  case  the  types  and 

B  B 


370  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

ceremonies  of  the  law,  perhaps  the  very  facts  and  per- 
sons of  the  history,  will  be  assumed  to  be  predestined 
or  made  after  a  pattern  corresponding  to  the  things 
that  were  to  be  in  the  latter  days.  And  this  question 
of  itself  stirs  another  question  respecting  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New.  Is  such 
interpretation  to  be  regarded  as  the  meaning  of 
the  original  text,  or  an  accommodation  of  it  to  the 
thoughts  of  other  times  ? 

Our  object  is  not  to  attempt  here  the  determination 
of  these  questions,  but  to  point  out  that  they  must  be 
determined  before  any  real  progress  can  be  made  or 
any  agreement  arrived  at  in  the  interpretation  of 
Scripture.  With  one  more  example  of  another  kind 
we  may  close  this  part  of  the  subject.  The  origin  of 
thg^hree  first  Gospels  is  an  inquiry  wliTclT  has  not 
been  "much  considered  by  English  theologians  since 
the  days  of  Bishop  Marsh.  The  difficulty  of  the 
question  has  been  sometimes  misunderstood ;  the 
point  being  how  there  can  be  so  much  agreement  in 
words,  and  so  much  disagreement  both  in  words  and 
facts  ;  the  double  phenomenon  is  the  real  perplexity — 
how  in  short  there  can  be  all  degrees  of  similarity  and 
dissimilarity,  the  kind  and  degree  of  similarity  being 
such  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  large 
portions  are  copied  from  each  other  or  from  common 
documents ;  the  dissimilarities  being  of  a  kind  which 
seem  to  render  impossible  any  knowledge  in  the 
authors  of  one  another's  writings.  The  most  probable 
solution  of  this  difficulty  is,  that  the  tradition  on  which 
the  three  first  Gospels  are  based  was  at  first  pre- 
served orally,  and  slowly  put  together  and  written 
in  the  three  forms  which  it  assumed  at  a  very  early 
period,  those  forms  being  in  some  places,  perhaps, 
modified  by  translation.  It  is  not  necessary  to  de- 
velope  this  hypothesis  farther.  The  point  to  be  noticed 
is,  that  whether  this  or  some  other  theory  be  the  true 
account    (and  some   such    account   is    demonstrably 


0)1  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  371 

necessary),  the  assumption  of  such  a  theory,  or  rather 
the  observation  of  the  facts  on  which  it  rests,  cannot  i^ 
but  exercise  an  influence  on  interpretation.  We  can  -i^' 
no  longer  speak  of  three  independent  witnesses  of  the 
Gospel  narrative.  Hence  there  follow  some  other 
consequences,  (i.)  There  is  no  longer  the  same  neces- 
sity as  heretofore  to  reconcile  inconsistent  narratives ; 
the  harmony  of  the  Gospels  only  means  the  parallelism 
of  similar  words.  (2.)  There  is  no  longer  any  need  to 
enforce  everj^where  the  connexion  of  successive  verses, 
for  the  same  \vords  will  be  fonnd  to  occur  in  different 
connexions  in  the  different  Gospels.  (3.)  Nor  can  the 
designs  attributed  to  their  authors  be  regarded  as  the 
free  handling  of  the  same  subject  on  different  plans ; 
the  difference  consisting  chiefly  in  the  occurrence  or 
absence  of  local  or  verbal  explanations,  or  the  ad- 
dition or  omission  of  certain  passages.  Lastly,  it  is 
evident  that  no  weight  can  be  given  to  traditional 
statements  of  facts  about  the  authorship,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, that  respecting  St.  Mark  being  the  interpreter 
of  St.  Peter,  because  the  Fathers  who  have  handed 
down  these  statements  were  ignorant  or  unobservant 
of  the  great  fact,  which  is  proved  by  internal  evidence,  y- 
that  they  are  for  the  most  part  of  common  origin. 

Until  these  and  the  like  questions  are  determined 
by  interpreters,  it  is  not  possible  that  there  should  be 
agreement  in  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  The 
Protestant  and  Catholic,  the  Unitarian  and  Trinita- 
rian will  continue  to  fight  their  battle  on  the  ground 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  Preterists  and  Futurists, 
those  who  maintain  that  the  roll  of  prophecies  is 
completed  in  past  history,  or  in  the  apostolical  age ; 
those  who  look  forward  to  a  long  series  of  events 
which  are  yet  to  come  [ac  u({>aveQ  tou  /hvOov  avivsyKwu 
ovK  s^H  eXty^ou^,  may  alike  claim  the  authority  of  the 
Book  of  Daniel,  or  the  Eevelation.  Apparent  coinci- 
dences will  always  be  discovered  by  those  who  vv'ant 
to  find  them.     TOiere  there  is  no  critical  interpreta- 

B  B  2 


372  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

tion  of  Scripture,  there  will  be  a  m^^stical  or  rheto- 
rical one.     If  words  have  more  than  one  meaning,  the  j 
may  have  any  meaning.     Instead  of  being  a  rule  of 
^-  life  or  faith,  Scripture  becomes  the  expression  of  the 
■  ever-changing  aspect  of  religious  opinions.     The  un- 
changeable word  of  God,  in  the   name  of  which   we 
repose,  is   changed  by  each  age   and  each  generation 
in  accordance  with  its  passing  fancy.     The  book  in 
^wliicli  we  believe  all  relie^ious  truth  to  be  contained, 
\/-  )\^  the  most  uncertain  of  all  books,  because  interpreted 
«  y-^    by  arbitrary  and  uncertain  methods. 

§  3- 
It  is  probable  that  some  of  the  preceding  state- 
ments may  be  censured  as  a  wanton  exposure  of  the 
difficulties  of  Scripture.  It  will  be  said  that  such 
inquiries  are  for  the  few,  while  the  printed  page  lies 
open  to  the  many,  and  that  the  obtrusion  of  them 
may  offend  some  weaker  brother,  some  half-educated 
or  prejudiced  soul,  '  for  whom,'  nevertheless,  in  the 
touching  language  of  St.  Paul,  '  Christ  died.'  A  con- 
fusion of  the  heart  and  head  may  lead  sensitive 
minds  into  a  desertion  of  the  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian life,  which  are  their  own  witness,  because  they 
are  in  doubt  about  facts  which  are  really  external  to 
them.  Great  evil  to  character  may  sometimes  ensue 
from  such  causes.  '  ISTo  man  can  serve  two'  opinions 
without  a  sensible  harm  to  his  nature.  The  con- 
sciousness of  this  responsibility  should  be  always 
present  to  writers  on  theology.  But  the  responsibi- 
lity is  really  two-fold ;  for  there  is  a  duty  to  speak 
the  truth  as  well  as  a  duty  to  withhold  it.  The  voice 
of  a  majority  of  the  clergy  throughout  the  world,  the 
half  sceptical,  half  conservative  instincts  of  many  laj- 
men,  perhaps,  also,  individual  interest,  are  in  favour 
of  the  latter  course ;  while  a  higher  expediency  pleads 
that  'honesty  is  the  best  policy,'  and  that  truth  alone 
'  makes  free.'  To  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  truth 
is  not  truth  to  those  who  are  unable  to  use  it ;  no 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scrqjtiire.  373 

reasonable  man  would  attempt  to  lay  before  tlie  illiterate 
such  a  question  as  that  concerning  the  origin  ol'  tlie 
Grospels.  And  yet  it  may  be  rejoined  once  more,  the 
healthy  tone  of  religion  among  the  poor  depends  upon 
freedom  of  thought  and  inquiry  among  the  educated. 
In  this  conflict  of  reasons,  individual  judgment  must 
at  last  decide.  That  there  has  been  no  rude,  or  im- 
proper unveiling  of  the  difficulties  of  Scripture  in 
the  preceding  pages,  is  thought  to  be  shown  by  the 
following  considerations : 

First,  that  the  difficulties  referred  to  are  very  well 
known ;  they  force  themselves  on  the  attention,  not 
only  of  the  student,  but  of  every  intelligent  reader  of 
the  New  Testament,  whether  in  Greek  or  English. 
The  treatment  of  such  difficulties  in  theological  works 
is  no  measure  of  public  opinion  respecting  them. 
Thoughtful  persons,  whose  minds  have  turned  towards 
theology,  are  continually  discovering  that  the  critical 
observations  which  they  make  themselves  have  been 
made  also  by  others  apparently  without  concert.  The 
truth  is  that  they  have  been  led  to  them  by  the  same 
causes,  and  these  again  lie  deep  in  the  tendencies  of 
education  and  literature  in  the  present  age.  But  no 
one  is  willing  to  break  through  the  reticence  which  is 
observed  on  these  subjects ;  hence  a  sort  of  smoulder- 
ing scepticism.  It  is  probable  that  the  distrust  is 
greatest  at  the  time  when  the  greatest  efforts  are  made 
to  conceal  it.  Doubt  comes  in  at  the  window,  when 
Inquiry  is  denied  at  the  door.  The  thoughts  of 
able  and  highly  educated  young  men  almost  always 
stray  towards  the  first  principles  of  things ;  it  is 
a  great  injury  to  them,  and  tends  to  raise  in  their 
minds  a  sort  of  incurable  suspicion,  to  find  that  there 
is  one  book  of  the  fruit  of  the  knowledge  of  which  they 
are  forbidden  freely  to  taste,  that  is,  the  Bible.  The 
same  spirit  renders  the  Christian  Minister  almost 
powerless  in  the  hands  of  his  opponents.  He  can 
give  no  true  answer  to  the  mechanic  or  artisan  who 


374  On  the  Interjirciation  of  ScrijAure. 

has  either  discovered  by  his  mother-wit  or  who  retails 
at  second-hand  the  objections  of  critics;  for  he  is 
unable  to  look  at  things  as  they  truly  are. 

Secondly,  as  the  time  has  come  when  it  is  no  longer 
possible  to  ignore  the  results  of  criticism,  it  is  of  im- 
portance that  Christianity  should  be  seen  to  be  in 
harmony  Math  them.  That  objections  to  some  received 
views  should  be  valid,  and  yet  that  they  should  be 
always  held  up  as  the  objections  of  infidels,  is  a  mis- 
chief to  the  Christian  cause.  It  is  a  mischief  that 
critical  observations  which  any  intelligent  man  can 
make  ^  for  himself,  should  be  ascribed  to  atheism  or 
unbelief.  It  would  be  a  strange  and  almost  incredible 
thing  that  the  Gospel,  which  at  first  made  war  only 
on  the  vices  of  mankind,  should  now  be  opposed  to 
one  of  the  highest  and  rarest  of  human  virtues — the  love 
of  truth.  ^  And  that  in  the  present  day  the  great  object 
of  Christianity  should  be,  not  to  change  the  lives  of  men, 
but  to  prevent  them  from  changing  their  opinions; 
that  would  be  a  singular  inversion  of  the  purposes  for 
which  Christ  came  into  the  world.  The  Christian 
^  religion  is  in  a  false  position  when  all  the  tendencies 
of  knowledge  are  opposed  to  it.  Such  a  position  can- 
not be  long  maintained,  or  can  only  end  in  the  with- 
drawal of  the  educated  classes  from  the  influences  of 
religion.  It  is  a  grave  consideration  whether  we 
ourselves  may  not  be  in  an  earlier  stage  of  the  same 
religious  dissolution,  which  seems  to  have  gone  further 
in  Italy  and  France.  The  reason  for  thinking  so  is 
not  to  be  sought  in  the  external  circumstances  of  our 
own  or  any  other  religious  communion,  but  in  the 
progress  of  ideas  with  which  Christian  teachers  seem  to 
be  ill  at  ease.  Time  was  when  the  Gospel  was  before 
the  age  ;  when  it  breatlied  a  new  life  into  a  decaying 
world — when  the  difficulties  of  Christianity  were 
difficulties  of  the  heart  only,  and  the  highest  minds 
found  in  its  truths  not  only  the  rule  of  their  lives, 
but  a  well-spring  of  intellectual  dehght.     Is  it  to  be 


On  the  I/ifcrjTretation  of  Scripture.  375 

held  a  thing  impossible  that  the  Christian  religion, 
instead  of  shrinking  into  itself,  may  again  embrace  the 
thoughts  of  men  npon  the  earth  ?  Or  is  it  true  that 
since  the  Reformation  '  all  intellect  has  gone  the  other 
way'?  and  that  in  Protestant  countries  reconciliation 
is  as  hopeless  as  Protestants  commonly  believe  to  be 
the  case  in  Catholic  ? 

Those  who  hold  the  possibility  of  such  a  reconcile- 
ment or  restoration  of  belief,  are  anxious  to  disengage 
Christianity  from  all  suspicion  of  disguise  or  unfair- 
ness. They  wish  to  preserve  the  historical  use  of 
Scripture  as  the  continuous  witness  in  all  ages  of  the 
higher  things  in  the  heart  of  man,  as  the  inspired 
source  of  truth  and  the  way  to  the  better  life.  They 
are  willing  to  take  away  some  of  the  external  supports, 
because  they  are  not  needed  and  do  harm ;  also, 
because  they  interfere  with  the  meaning.  They  have 
a  faith,  not  that  after  a  period  of  transition  all  things 
will  remain  just  as  they  were  before,  but  that  they 
will  all  come  round  again  to  the  use  of  man  and  to  the 
glory  of  God.  When  interpreted  like  any  other  book, 
by  the  same  rules  of  evidence  and  the  same  canons  of 
criticism,  the  Bible  will  still  remain  unlike  any  other 
book ;  its  beauty  will  be  freshly  seen,  as  of  a  picture  .^ 
which  is  restored  after  many  ages  to  its  original  state  ;  ^ 
it  will  create  a  new  interest  and  make  for  itself  a  new 
kind  of  authority  by  the  life  which  is  in  it.  It  will 
be  a  spirit  and  not  a  letter;  as  it  was  in  the  beginning, 
having  an  influence  like  that  of  the  spoken  word,  or 
the  book  newly  found.  The  purer  the  light  in  the 
human  heart,  the  more  it  will  have  an  expression  of 
itself  in  the  mind  of  Christ;  the  greater  the  knowledge 
of  the  development  of  man,  the  truer  will  be  the  in- 
sight gained  into  the  'increasing  purpose'  of  revelation. 
In  which  also  the  individual  soul  has  a  practical  part, 
finding  a  sympathy  with  its  own  imperfect  feelings, 
in  the  broken  utterance  of  the  Psalmist  or  the  Prophet 
as  well  as   in  the  fulness  of  Christ.      The  harmony 


376  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

between  Scripture  and  the  life  of  man,  in  all  its  stages, 
may  be  far  greater  than  appears  at  present.  No  one 
can  form  any  notion  from  what  we  see  around  us,  of 
the  power  which  Cliristianity  might  have  if  it  were  at 
one  with  the  conscience  of  man,  and  not  at  variance 
with  his  intellectual  convictions.  There,  a  world  weary 
of  the  heat  and  dust  of  controversy — -of  speculations 
about  God  and  man — weary  too  of  the  rapidity  of  its 
own  motion,  would  return  home  and  find  rest. 

But  for  the  ftiith  that  the  Gospel  might  win  again 
the  minds  of  intellectual  men,  it  would  be  better  to 
leave  religion  to  itself,  instead  of  attempting  to  draw 
them  together.  Other  walks  in  literature  have  peace 
and  pleasure  and  profit;  the  path  of  the  critical 
Interpreter  of  Scripture  is  almost  always  a  thorny  one 
in  England.  It  is  not  worth  while  for  any  one  to 
enter  upon  it  who  is  not  supported  by  a  sense  that  he 
has  a  Christian  and  moral  object.  For  although  an 
Interpreter  of  Scripture  in  modern  times  will  hardly 
say  with  the  emphasis  of  the  Apostle,  '  Woe  is  me,  if  I 
speak  not  the  truth  without  regard  to  consequences,' 
yet  he  too  may  feel  it  a  matter  of  duty  not  to  conceal 
the  things  which  he  knows.  He  does  not  hide  the 
discrepancies  of  Scripture,  because  the  acknowledgment 
*of  them  is  the  first  step  towards  agreement  among 
interpreters.  He  would  restore  the  original  meaning 
because  '  seven  other'  meanings  take  the  place  of  it ; 
the  book  is  made  the  sport  of  opinion  and  the  instru- 
ment of  perversion  of  life.  He  would  take  the  excuses 
of  the  head  out  of  the  way  of  the  heart ;  there  is  hope 
^  too  that  by  drawing  Christians  together  on  the  ground 
of  Scripture,  he  may  also  draw  them  nearer  to  one 
another.  He  is  not  afraid  that  inquiries,  which  have 
for  their  object  the  truth,  can  ever  be  displeasing  to 
the  God  of  truth ;  or  that  the  Word  of  God  is  in  any 
such  sense  a  word  as  to  be  hurt  by  investigations  into 
its  human  origin  and  conception. 

It  may  be  thought  another  ungracious  aspect  of  the 


On  the  Inicrjjretailon  of  Scrijjture.  2>11 

preceding  remarks,  that  they  cast  a  slight  upou  tlie 
interpreters  of  Scripture  in  former  ages.  The  early 
Fathers,  the  Eoman  Catholic  mystical  writers,  the 
Swiss  and  German  Reformers,  the  Nonconformist 
divines,  have  qualities  for  which  we  look  in  vain  among 
ourselves ;  they  throw  an  intensity  of  light  upon  the 
page  of  Scripture  which  we  nowhere  find  in  modern 
commentaries.  But  it  is  not  the  light  of  interpreta- 
tion. They  have  a  faith  which  seems  indeed  to  have 
grown  dim  now-a-days,  but  that  faitli  is  not  drawn 
from  the  study  of  Scripture ;  it  is  the  element  in  which 
their  own  mind  moves  which  overflows  on  the  meaninsr 
of  the  text.  The  words  of  Scripture  suggest  to  them 
their  own  thoughts  or  feelings.  They  are  preachers, 
or  in  the  New  Testament  sense  of  the  word,  prophets 
rather  than  interpreters.  There  is  nothing  in  such  a 
view  derogatory  to  the  saints  and  doctors  of  former 
ages.  That  Aquinas  or  Bernard  did  not  shake  them- 
selves free  from  the  mystical  method  of  the  Patristic 
times  or  the  Scholastic  one  which  was  more  peculiarly 
their  own  ;  that  Luther  and  Calvin  read  the  Scriptures 
in  connexion  with  the  ideas  which  were  kindling-  in 
the  mind  of  their  age,  and  the  events  which  were 
passing  before  their  eyes,  these  and  similar  remarks 
are  not  to  be  construed  as  depreciatory  of  the  genius 
or  learning  of  famous  men  of  old ;  they  relate  only 
to  their  interpretation  of  Scripture,  in  which  it  is  no 
slight  upon  them,  to  maintain  that  they  were  not 
before  their  day. 

What  remains  may  be  comprised  in  a  few  j)recepts, 
or  rather  is  the  expansion  of  a  single  one.  Interpret 
the  Scripture  like  any  other  book.  There  are  many  '\ 
respects  in  which  Scripture  is  unlike  any  other  book ; 
these  will  appear  in  the  results  of  such  an  interpreta- 
tion. The  first  step  is  to  know  the  meaning,  and  this 
can  only  be  done  in  the  same  careful  and  impartial 
way  that  we  ascertain  the  meaning  of  Sophocles  or  of 
Plato.     The  subordinate  principles  which  flow  out  of 


378  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

this  general  one  will  also  be  gathered  from  the 
observation  of  Scripture.  No  other  science  of  Her- 
meneutics  is  possible  but  an  inductive  one,  that  is  to 
say,  one  based  on  tlie  language  and  thoughts  and  nar- 
rations of  the  sacred  writers.  And  it  would  be  well  to 
carry  the  theory  of  interpretation  no  further  than  in 
the  case  of  other  works.  Excessive  system  tends  to 
create  an  impression  that  the  meaning  of  Scripture  is 
out  of  our  reach,  or  is  to  be  attained  in  some  other 
way  than  by  tlie  exercise  of  manly  sense  and  industry. 
Who  would  write  a  bulky  treatise  about  the  method 
to  be  pursued  in  interpreting  Plato  or  Sophocles? 
Let  us  not  set  out  on  our  journey  so  heavily  equipped 
that  there  is  little  chance  of  our  arriving  at  the  end  of 
it.  The  method  creates  itself  as  we  go  on,  beginning 
only  with  a  few  reflections  directed  against  plain  errors. 
Such  reflections  are  the  rules  of  common  sense,  which 
we  acknowledge  with  respect  to  other  works  written 
in  dead  languages ;  without  pretending  to  novelty 
they  may  help  us  to  *  retui-n  to  nature'  in  the  study 
of  the  sacred  writings. 

First,  it  may  be  laid  down,  that  Scripture  has  one 
meanin"- — the  meanino-  which  it  had  to  the  mind  of 
the  Prophet  or  Evangelist  who  first  uttered  or  wrote, 
to  the  hearers  or  readers  who  first  received  it.  Another 
view  may  be  easier  or  more  familiar  to  us,  seeming  to 
receive  a  light  and  interest  from  the  circumstances 
of  our  own  age.  But  such  accommodation  of  the  text 
must  be  laid  aside  by  the  interpreter,  whose  business 
is,  to  place  himself  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  position 
of  the  sacred  writer.  That  is  no  easy  task — to  call 
up  the  inner  and  outer  life  of  the  contemporaries  of 
our  Saviour  ;  to  follow  the  abrupt  and  involved  utter- 
ance of  St.  Paul  or  of  one  of  the  old  Prophets  ;  to  trace 
the  meaning  of  words  when  language  first  became 
Christian.  He  will  often  have  to  choose  the  more 
difiicult  interpretation  (Galatians  ii.  20  ;  Romans  iii.  15, 
&c.),  and  to  refuse  one  more  in  agreement  with  received 


Oil  the  Liferpretation  of  Scripture.  379 

opinions,  because  the  latter  is  less  true  to  the  style 
and  time  of  the  author.  He  may  incur  the  charge  of 
singularity,  or  confusion  of  ideas,  or  ignorance  of  Grreek, 
from  a  misunderstanding  of  the  peculiarity  of  the  sub- 
ject in  the  person  who  makes  the  charge.  For  if  it  be 
said  that  the  translation  of  some  Greek  words  is  con- 
trary to  the  usages  of  grammar  (Galatians  iv.  13),  that 
is  not  in  every  instance  to  be  denied ;  the  point  is, 
whether  the  usages  of  grammar  are  always  observed. 
Or  if  it  be  objected  to  some  interpretation  of  Scripture 
that  it  is  difficult  and  perplexing,  the  answer  is — 
'  that  may  very  well  be — it  is  the  fact,'  arising  out  of 
differences  in  the  modes  of  thought  of  other  times,  or 
irregularities  in  the  use  of  language  which  no  art  of 
the  interpreter  can  evade.  One  consideration  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  book  in 
the  world  written  in  different  styles  and  at  many 
different  times,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  persons  of  all 
degrees  of  knowledge  and  education.  The  benefit  of 
this  outweighs  the  evil, yet  theevil  shouldbe admitted — 
namely,  that  it  leads  toa  hasty  and  partial  interpretation 
of  Scripture,  which  often  obscures  the  true  one.  A  sort 
of  conflict  arises  between  scientific  criticism  and  popu- 
lar opinion.  The  indiscriminate  use  of  Scripture  has 
a  further  tendency  to  maintain  erroneous  readings  or 
translations ;  some  which  are  allowed  to  be  such  by 
scholars  have  been  stereotyped  in  the  mind  of  the 
English  reader ;  and  it  becomes  almost  a  political 
question  how  far  we  can  venture  to  disturb  them. 

There  are  difficulties  of  another  kind  in  many  parts 
of  Scripture,  the  depth  and  inwardness  of  which  re- 
quire a  measure  of  the  same  qualities  in  the  interpreter 
himself.  There  are  notes  struck  in  places,  which  like 
some  discoveries  of  science  have  sounded  before  their 
time  ;  and  only  after  many  days  have  been  caught  up 
and  found  a  response  on  the  earth.  There  are  germs 
of  truth  which  after  thousands  of  years  have  never  yet 
taken  root  in  the  world.     There  are  lessons  in  the 


380  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

Prophets  which,  however  simple,  mankind  have  not 
yet  learned  even  in  theory  ;  and  which  the  complexity 
of  society  rather  tends  to  hide  ;  aspects  of  human  life 
in  Job  and  Ecclesiastes  which  have  a  truth  of  desola- 
tion about  them  which  we  faintly  realize  in  ordinary 
circumstances.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  greatest  difficulty  of 
all  to  enter  into  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  Christ — 
so  gentle,  so  human,  so  divine,  neither  adding  to  them 
nor  marring  their  simplicity.  The  attempt  to  illustrate 
or  draw  them  out  in  detail,  even  to  guard  against  their 
abuse,  is  apt  to  disturb  the  balance  of  truth.  The 
interpreter  needs  nothing  short  of  '  fashioning'  in  him- 
self the  image  of  the  mind  of  Christ.  He  has  to  be 
born  again  into  a  new  spiritual  or  intellectual  world, 
from  which  the  thoughts  of  this  world  are  shut  out. 
It  is  one  of  the  highest  tasks  on  which  the  labour  of  a 
life  can  be  spent,  to  bring  the  words  of  Christ  a  little 
nearer  the  heart  of  man. 

But  while  acknowledo^ino^  this  inexhaustible  or  in- 
rinite  character  of  the  sacred  writings,  it  does  not, 
therefore,  follow  that  we  are  willing  to  admit  of  hidden 
or  mysterious  meanings  in  them  :  in  the  same  way  we 
recognise  the  wonders  and  complexity  of  the  laws  of 
nature  to  be  far  beyond  wdiat  eye  has  seen  or  know- 
ledge reached,  yet  it  is  not  therefore  to  be  supposed, 
that  we  acknowledge  the  existence  of  some  other  laws 
different  in  kind  from  those  we  know  which  are  in- 
capable of  philosophical  analysis.  In  like  manner  we 
have  no  reason  to  attribute  to  the  Prophet  or  Evan- 
gelist any  second  or  hidden  sense  different  from  that 
which  appears  on  the  surface.  All  that  the  Prophet 
meant  may  not  have  been  consciously  present  to  liis 
mind ;  there  were  depths  which  to  himself  also  were 
but  half  revealed.  He  beheld  the  fortunes  of  Israel 
passing  into  the  heavens ;  the  temporal  kingdom  was 
lading  into  an  eternal  one.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  what  he  saw  at  a  distance  only  was  clearly  defined 
to  him  ;  or  that  the  universal  truth  which  was  appear- 


On  the  Literjjretatmi  of  Scrijjfiire.  38 1 

ing  and  reappearing  in  the  history  of  the  surrounding 
world  took  a  purely  spiritual  or  abstract  form  in  his 
mind.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  we  may  still  say 
with  Lord  Bacon,  that  tlie  words  of  prophecy  are  to 
be  interpreted  as  tlie  words  of  one  '  with  whom  a 
thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a 
thousand  years.'  But  that  is  no  reason  for  turning 
days  into  years,  or  for  interpreting  the  things  '  that 
must  shortly  come  to  pass  '  in  the  book  of  revelation, 
as  the  events  of  modern  history,  or  for  separating  the 
day  of  judgment  from  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in 
the  Gospels.  The  double  meaning  which  is  given  to 
our  Saviour's  discourse  respecting  the  last  things  is 
not  that  '  form  of  eternity '  of  which  Lord  Bacon 
speaks ;  it  resembles  rather  the  doubling  of  an  object 
when  seen  through  glasses  placed  at  different  angles. 
It  is  true  also  that  there  are  types  in  Sci'ipture  which 
were  regarded  as  such  by  the  Jews  themselves,  as  for 
example,  the  scapegoat,  or  the  paschal  lamb.  But  that 
is  no  proof  of  all  outward  ceremonies  being  types  when 
Scripture  is  silent ; — if  we  assume  the  New  Testament 
as  a  tradition  running  parallel  with  the  Old,  may 
not  the  Eoman  Catholic  assume  with  equal  reason 
tradition  running  parallel  with  the  New?  Pro- 
phetic symbols,  again,  have  often  the  same  meaning 
in  different  places  {e.ff.,  the  four  beasts  or  living  crea- 
tures, the  colours  white  or  red)  ;  the  reason  is  that 
this  meaning  is  derived  from  some  natural  association 
(as  of  fruitfulness,  purity,  or  the  like) ;  or  again,  they 
are  borrowed  in  some  of  the  later  prophecies  from 
earlier  ones  ;  we  are  not,  therefore,  justified  in  suppos- 
ing any  hidden  connexion  in  the  prophecies  where  they 
occur.  Neither  is  there  any  ground  for  assuming 
design  of  any  other  kind  in  Scripture  any  more  than 
in  Plato  or  Homer.  Wherever  there  is  beauty  and 
order,  there  is  design  ;  but  there  is  no  proof  of  any 
artificial  design,  such  as  is  often  traced  by  the  Fathers, 
in  the  relation  of  the  several  parts  of  a  book,  or  of 


382  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

the  several  books  to  each  other.  That  is  one  of  those 
mischievous  notions  which  enables  us,  under  the  dis- 
guise of  reverence,  to  make  Scripture  mean  what  we 
please.  Nothing  that  can  be  said  of  the  greatness  or 
sublimity,  or  truth,  or  depth,  or  tenderness,  of  many 
passages,  is  too  much.  But  that  greatness  is  of  a 
simple  kind ;  it  is  not  increased  by  double  senses,  or 
systems  of  types,  or  elaborate  structure,  or  design.  If 
every  sentence  was  a  mystery,  every  word  a  riddle, 
every  letter  a  symbol,  that  would  not  make  the  Scrip- 
tures more  worthy  of  a  Divine  author ;  it  is  a  hea- 
thenish or  Eabbinical  fancy  which  reads  them  in  this 
way.  Such  complexity  would  not  place  them  above 
but  below  human  compositions  in  general ;  for  it 
would  deprive  them  of  the  ordinary  intelligibleness 
of  human  language.  It  is  not  for  a  Christian  theo- 
logian to  say  that  words  were  given  to  mankind  to 
conceal  their  thoughts,  neither  was  revelation  given 
them  to  conceal  the  Divine. 

The  second  rule  is  an  application  of  the  general 
principle  ;  '  interpret  Scripture  from  itself '  as  in  other 
respects,  like  any  other  book  written  in  an  age  and 
country  of  which  little  or  no  other  literature  survives, 
and  about  which  we  know  almost  nothing  except 
what  is  derived  from  its  pages.  Not  that  all  the  parts 
of  Scripture  are  to  be  regarded  as  an  indistinguishable 
mass.  The  Old  Testament  is  not  to  be  identified  with 
the  New,  nor  the  Law  with  the  Prophets,  nor  the 
Gospels  with  the  Epistles,  nor  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 
to  be  violently  harmonized  with  the  Epistle  of  St. 
James.  Each  writer,  each  successive  age,  has  charac- 
teristics of  its  own,  as  strongly  marked,  or  more 
strongly  than  those  which  are  found  in  the  authors 
or  periods  of  classical  literature.  These  differences 
are  not  to  be  lost  in  the  idea  of  a  Spirit  from  whom 
they  proceed  or  by  which  they  were  overruled.  And 
therefore,  illustration  of  one  part  of  Scripture  by 
another  should  be  confined  to  writings  of  the  same 


^ 


0)1  the  Iiiierpretation  of  Scripture.  383 

age  and  the  same  authors,  except  where  the  writings 
of  different  ages  or  persons  offer  obvious  similarities. 
It  may  be  said  further  that  illustration  should  be 
chiefly  derived,  not  only  from  the  same  author,  but 
from  the  same  writing,  or  from  one  of  the  same  period 
of  his  life.  For  example,  the  comparison  of  St.  John 
and  the  '  synoptic'  Gospels,  or  of  the  Grospel  of  St. 
John  with  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  will  tend  rather 
to  confuse  than  to  elucidate  the  meaning  of  either ; 
vvdiile,  on  the  other  hand,  the  comparison  of  the 
Prophets  with  one  another,  and  with  the  Psalms, 
offers  many  valuable  helps  and  lights  to  the  inter- 
preter. Again,  the  connexion  between  the  Epistles 
written  by  the  Apostle  St.  Paul  about  the  same  time 
{e.ff.  Eomans,  i  and  a  Corinthians,  Galatians, — Colos- 
sians,  Philippians,  Ephesians, — compared  with  Romans, 
Colossians, — Ephesians,  Galatians,  &c,,)  is  far  closer 
than  of  Epistles  which  are  separated  by  an  interval  of 
only  a  few  years. 

But  supposing  all  this  to  be  understood,  and  that 
by  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  from  itself  is  meant 
a  real  interpretation  of  like  by  like,  it  may  be  asked, 
what  is  it  that  we  gain  from  a  minute  comparison  of 
a  particular  author  or  writing  ?  The  indiscriminate 
use  of  parallel  passages  taken  from  one  end  of 
Scripture  and  applied  to  the  other  (except  so  far  as 
earlier  compositions  may  have  afforded  the  material 
or  the  form  of  later  ones)  is  useless  and  uncritical. 
The  uneducated,  or  imperfectly  educated  person  who 
looks  out  the  marginal  references  of  the  English  Bible, 
imagining  himself  in  this  way  to  gain  a  clearer  insight 
into  the  Divine  meaning,  is  really  following  the  reli- 
gious associations  of  his  own  mind.  Even  the  critical 
use  of  parallel  passages  is  not  without  danger.  For 
are  we  to  conclude  that  an  author  meant  in  one  place 
what  he  says  in  another?  Shall  we  venture  to  mend 
a  corrupt  phrase  on  the  model  of  some  other  phrase, 
which  memory,  prevailing  over  judgment,  calls  up  and 


384  On  the  Interpretatmn  of  Scrijjfure. 

thrusts  into  the  text  ?  It  is  this  fallacy  which  has 
filled  the  pages  of  classical  writers  with  useless  and 
unfounded  emendations. 

The  meaning  of  the  Canon  '  Non  7iisi  ex  Scripturd 
Scripturam  potes  interpretari'  is  only  this,  '  That  we 
cannot  understand  Scripture  without  becoming  familiar 
with  it.'  Scripture  is  a  world  by  itself,  from  which 
we  must  exclude  foreign  influences,  whether  theological 
or  classical.  To  get  inside  that  world  is  an  effort  of 
thought  and  imagination,  requiring  the  sense  of  a 
poet  as  well  as  a  critic — demanding,  much  more  than 
learning,  a  degree  of  original  power  and  intensity  of 
mind.  Any  one  who,  instead  of  burying  himself  in 
the  pages  of  the  commentators,  would  learn  the  sacred 
writings  by  heart,  and  paraphrase  them  in  English, 
will  probably  make  a  nearer  approach  to  their  true 
meaning  than  he  would  gather  from  any  commentary. 
The  intelligent  mind  will  ask  its  own  questions,  and 
find  for  the  most  part  its  own  answers.  The  true  use 
of  interpretation  is  to  get  rid  of  interpretation,  and 
leave  us  alone  in  company  with  the  author.  When 
the  meaning  of  Greek  words  is  once  known,  the  young 
student  has  almost  all  the  real  materials  which  are 
possessed  by  the  greatest  Biblical  scholar,  in  the  book 
itself.  For  almost  our  whole  knowledge  of  the  history 
of  the  Jews  is  derived  from  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  Apocryphal  books,  and  almost  our  whole  know- 
ledge of  the  life  of  Christ  and  of  the  Apostolical  age 
is  derived  from  the  New ;  whatever  is  added  to  them 
is  either  conjecture,  or  very  slight  topographical  or 
chronological  illustration.  For  this  reason  the  rule 
given  above,  which  is  applicable  to  all  books,  is  appli- 
cable to  the  New  Testament  more  than  any  other. 

Yet  in  this  consideration  of  the  separate  books  of 
Scripture  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  they  have  also 
a  sort  of  continuity.  We  make  a  separate  study  of  the 
subject,  of  the  mode  of  thought,  in  some  degree  also, 
of  the  language  of  each  book.     And  at  length  the 


On  the  Interjpretation  of  Scrijjticre.  3S5 

idea  arises  in  our  minds  of  a  common  literature,  a 
pervading  life,  an  overruling  law.  It  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  effect  of  some  natural  scene  in  which  we 
suddenly  perceive  a  harmony  or  picture,  or  to  the  im- 
perfect appearance  of  design  which  suggests  itself  in 
looking  at  the  surface  of  the  globe.  That  is  to  say, 
there  is  nothing  miraculous  or  artificial  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  books  of  Scripture  ;  it  is  the  result,  not 
the  design,  which  appears  in  them  when  bound  in  the 
same  volume.  Or  if  we  like  so  to  say,  there  is  design, 
but  a  natural  design  which  is  revealed  to  after  ages. 
Such  continuity  or  design  is  best  expressed  under  some 
notion  of  progress  or  growth,  not  regular,  however,  but 
with  broken  and  imperfect  stages,  which  the  want  of 
knowledge  prevents  our  minutely  defining.  The  great 
truth  of  the  unity  of  God  was  there  from  the  first ; 
slowly  as  the  morning  broke  in  the  heavens,  like  some 
central  light,  it  filled  and  afterwards  dispersed  the  mists 
of  human  passion  in  which  it  was  itself  enveloped. 
A  change  passes  over  the  Jewish  religion  from  fear 
to  love,  from  power  to  wisdom,  from  the  justice  of 
God  to  tlie  mercy  of  God,  from  the  nation  to  the 
individual,  from  this  world  to  another;  from  the 
visitation  of  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children, 
to  '  every  soul  shall  bear  its  own  iniquity  ;'  from  the 
fire,  the  earthquake,  and  the  storm,  to  the  still  small 
voice.  There  never  was  a  time  after  the  deliverance 
from  Egypt,  in  which  the  Jewish  people  did  not  bear 
a  kind  of  witness  against  the  cruelty  and  licentious- 
ness of  the  surrounding  tribes.  In  the  decline  of  the 
monarchy,  as  the  kingdom  itself  was  sinking  under 
foreign  conquerors,  whether  springing  from  contact 
with  the  outer  world,  or  from  some  reaction  within, 
the  undergrowth  of  morality  gathers  strength ;  first, 
in  the  anticipation  of  prophecy,  secondly,  like  a  green 
plant  in  the  hollow  rindof  Pharisaism, — and  individuals 
pray  and  commune  with  God  each  one  for  himself. 
At  length  the  tree  of  life  blossoms  ;    the  faith  in  im- 

c  c 


386  On  the  Jnterprcfation  of  Scripture. 

mortality  which  had  hitherto  skimbered  in  the  heart 
of  man,  intimated  only  in  doubtful  words  (2  Sam.  xii. 
23  ;  Psalm  xvii.  15),  or  beaming  for  an  instant  in 
dark  places  (Job  xix.  25),  has  become  the  prevaiHng 
belief. 

There  is  an  interval  in  the  Jewish  annals  which  we 
often  exclude  from  our  thoughts,  because  it  has  no 
record  in  the  canonical  writings — extending  over  about 
four  hundred  years,  from  the  last  of  the  prophets  of 
the  Old  Testament  to  the  forerunner  of  Christ  in  the 
New.  This  interval,  about  which  we  know  so  little, 
which  is  regarded  by  many  as  a  portion  of  secular 
rather  than  of  sacred  histor}^  was  nevertheless  as 
fruitful  in  religious  changes  as  any  similar  period 
which  preceded.  The  establishment  of  the  Jewish 
sects,  and  the  wars  of  the  Maccabees,  probably 
exercised  as  great  an  influence  on  Judaism  as  the 
captivity  itself".  A  third  influence  was  that  of  the 
Alexandrian  literature,  which  was  attracting  the 
Jewish  intellect,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Galilsean 
zealot  was  tearing  the  nation  in  pieces  with  the  doctrine 
that  it  was  lawful  to  call  '  no  man  master  but  God.' 
In  contrast  with  that  wild  fanaticism  as  well  as  with 
the  proud  Pharisee,  came  One  most  unlike  all  that  had 
been  before,  as  the  kings  or  rulers  of  mankind.  In 
an  age  which  was  the  victim  of  its  own  passions,  the 
creature  of  its  own  circumstances,  the  slave  of  its  own 
degenerate  religion,  our  Saviour  taught  a  lesson  abso- 
lutely free  from  all  the  influences  of  a  surrounding 
world.  He  made  the  last  perfect  revelation  of  God  to 
man  ;  a  revelation  not  indeed  immediately  applicable 
to  the  state  of  society  or  the  world,  but  in  its  truth 
and  purity  inexhaustible  by  the  after  generations  of 
men.  And  ol'the  first  application  of  the  truth  which  He 
taught  as  a  counsel  of  perfection  to  the  actual  circum- 
stances of  mankind,  we  have  the  example  in  theEpistles. 

Such  a  general  conception  of  growth  or  development 
in  Scripture,  beginning  with  the  truth  of  the  Unity 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scrijjture.  387 

of  God  in  the  earliest  books  and  ending  with  the  per- 
fection of  Christ,  naturally  springs  up  in  our  minds  in 
the  perusal  of  the  sacred  writings.  It  is  a  notion  of 
value  to  tlie  interpreter,  for  it  enables  him  at  the  same 
time  to  grasp  the  whole  and  distinguish  the  parts. 
It  saves  him  from  the  necessity  of  maintaining  that 
the  Old  Testament  is  one  and  the  same  everywhere  ; 
that  the  books  of  Moses  contain  truths  or  precepts, 
such  as  the  duty  of  prayer  or  the  faith  in  immortality, 
or  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  sacrifice,  which  no 
one  has  ever  seen  there.  It  leaves  him  room  enough 
to  admit  all  the  facts  of  the  case.  No  longer  is  he 
required  to  defend,  or  to  explain  away,  David's  impre- 
cations against  his  eneuiies,  or  his  injunctions  to 
Solomon,  any  more  than  his  sin  in  the  matter  of 
Uriah.  Nor  is  he  hampered  with  a  theory  of  accom- 
modation. Still,  the  sense  of  '  the  increasing  purpose 
which  through  the  ages  ran'  is  present  to  him,  no- 
Avhere  else  continuously  discernible  or  ending  in  a 
divine  perfection.  Nowhere  else  is  there  found  the 
same  interpenetration  of  the  political  and  religious 
element — a  whole  nation,  'though  never  good  for 
much  at  any  time,'  possessed  with  the  conviction  that 
it  was  living  in  the  face  of  God — in  whom  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  shone  upon  the  corruption  of  an  Eastern 
nature — the  *  fewest  of  all  people,'  yet  bearing  the 
greatest  part  in  the  education  of  the  world.  Nowhere 
else  among  the  teachers  and  benefactors  of  mankind 
is  there  any  form  like  His,  in  whom  the  desire  of  the 
nation  is  fulfilled,  and  '  not  of  that  nation  only,'  but 
of  all  mankind,  whom  He  restores  to  His  Father  and 
their  Father,  to  His  God  and  their  God.  ^^ 

Such  a  growth  or  development  may  be  regarded  as  (^  t*^ 
a  kind  of  progress  from  childhood  to  manhood.  In 
the  child  there  is  an  anticipation  of  truth  ;  his  reason 
is  latent  in  the  form  of  feeling ;  many  words 
are  used  by  him  which  he  imperfectly  understands ; 
he  is  led  by  temporal  promises,  believing,  that  to  be 

c  c  2 


3SS  On  the  Inferjjretation  of  Scnj)ture. 

good  is  to  be  liappy  always ;  lie  is  pleased  by  mar- 
vels and  has  vague  terrors.  He  is  confined  to  a 
spot  of  earth,  and  lives  in  a  sort  of  prison  of  sense, 
yet  is  bursting  also  with  a  fulness  of  childish  life  : 
he  imagines  God  to  be  like  a  human  father,  only 
greater  and  more  awfal ;  he  is  easily  impressed  with 
solemn  thoughts,  but  soon  '  rises  up  to  play'  with 
other  children.  It  is  observable  that  his  ideas  of 
right  and  wrong  are  very  simple,  hardly  extending  to 
another  life  ;  they  consist  chiefly  in  obedience  to  his 
parents,  whose  word  is  his  law.  As  he  growls  older 
he  mixes  more  and  more  with  others ;  first  with  one 
or  two  who  have  a  great  influence  in  the  direction  of 
his  mind.  At  length  the  world  opens  upon  him ; 
another  work  of  education  begins  ;  and  he  learns  to 
discern  more  truly  the  meaning  of  things  and  his  re- 
lation to  men  in  general.  You  may  complete  the 
image,  by  supposing  that  there  was  a  time  in  his  early 
days  when  he  was  a  helpless  outcast  '  in  the  land  of 
Egypt  and  the  house  of  bondage.'  And  as  he  arrives 
at  manhood  he  reflects  on  his  former  years,  the 
jorogress  of  his  education,  the  hardships  of  his  infancy, 
the  home  of  his  youth  (the  thought  of  which  is  ineflace- 
able  in  after  life),  and  he  now  understands  that  all  this 
was  but  a  preparation  for  another  state  of  being,  in  which 
he  is  to  play  a  part  for  himself.  And  once  more  in  age 
you  may  imagine  him  like  the  patriarch  looking  back  on 
the  entire  past,  which  he  reads  anew,  perceiving  that 
the  events  of  life  had  a  purpose  or  result  which  was 
not  seen  at  the  time ;  they  seem  to  liim  bound  '  each 
to  each  by  natural  piety.' 

'  Which  things  are  an  allegory,'  the  particulars  of 
which  any  one  may  interpret  for  himself.  For  the 
child  born  after  the  flesh  is  the  symbol  of  the  child 
born  after  the  Spirit.  '  The  law  was  a  schoolmaster  to 
bring  men  to  Christ,'  and  now  '  we  are  under  a  school- 
master' no  longer.  Tlie  anticipation  of  truth  which 
came  from  without  to  the  childhood  or  youth  of  the 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  8S9 

human  race  is  witnessed  to  within ;  the  reveLition  of 
God  is  not  lost  but  renewed  in  the  heart  and  under- 
standing of  the  man.  Experience  has  taught  us  the 
appUcation  of  the  lesson  in  a  wider  sphere.  And 
many  influences  have  combined  to  form  the  '  after  life' 
of  the  world.  When  at  the  close  (shall  we  say)  of  a 
great  period  in  the  history  of  man,  we  cast  our  eyes 
back  on  the  course  of  events,  from  the  '  angel  of  his 
presence  in  the  wilderness'  to  the  multitude  of  peoples, 
nations,  lana-uaeres,  who  are  beino"  drawn  tos^ether  by 
His  Providence — from  the  simplicity  of  the  pastoral 
state  in  the  dawn  of  the  world's  day,  to  all  the  elements 
of  civilization  and  knowledge  which  are  beginning  to 
meet  and  mingle  in  a  common  life,  we  also  understand 
that  we  are  no  longer  in  our  early  home,  to  which, 
nevertheless,  we  fondly  look ;  and  that  the  end  is  yet 
unseen,  and  the  purposes  of  God  towards  the  human 
race  only  half  revealed.  And  to  turn  once  more  to 
the  Interpreter  of  Scripture,  he  too  feels  that  tho 
continuous  growth  of  revelation  which  he  traces  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testament,  is  a  part  of  a  larger 
whole  extending  over  the  earth  and  reaching  to  another 
world. 

Scripture  has  an  inner  life  or  soul ;  it  has  also  an 
outward  body  or  form.  That  form  is  language,  which 
imperfectly  expresses  our  common  notions,  much  more 
those  higher  truths  which  religion  teaches.  At  the  time 
when  our  Saviour  came  into  the  world  the  Greek 
language  was  itself  in  a  state  of  degeneracy  and  decay. 
It  had  lost  its  poetic  force,  and  was  ceasing  to  have 
the  sway  over  the  mind  which  classical  Greek  once 
held.  That  is  a  more  important  revolution  in  the  mental 
history  of  mankind,  than  we  easily  conceive  in  modern 
times,  when  all  languages  sit  loosely  on  thought,  and 
the  peculiarities,  or  idiosyncrasies  of  one  are  corrected 
by  our  knowledge  of  another.  It  may  be  numbered 
among    the    causes  which   favoured   the   growth    of 


390  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

Christianity.  That  degeneracy  was  a  preparation  for 
the  Gospel — the  decaying-  soil  in  which  the  new  ele- 
ments of  life  were  to  come  forth — the  beginning  of 
another  state  of  man,  in  which  language  and  mythology 
and  philosophy  were  no  longer  to  exert  the  same  con- 
straining power  as  in  the  ancient  world.  The  civilized 
portion  of  mankind  were  becoming  of  one  speech,  the 
diffusion  of  which  along  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
sea  made  a  way  for  the  entrance  of  Christianity  into 
the  human  understanding,  just  as  the  Roman  empire 
prepared  the  framework  of  its  outward  history.  The 
first  of  all  languages,  '  for  glory  and  for  beauty,'  had 
become  the  '  common  dialect'  of  the  Macedonian 
kingdoms;  it  had  been  moulded  in  the  schools  of 
Alexandria  to  the  ideas  of  the  East  and  the  religious 
wants  of  Jews.  Neither  was  it  any  violence  to  its 
nature  to  be  made  the  vehicle  of  the  new  truths  which 
were  springing  up  in  the  heart  of  man.  The  definite- 
ness  and  absence  of  reflectiveness  in  the  earlier  forms 
of  human  speech,  would  have  imposed  a  sort  of  limit 
on  the  freedom  and  spirituality  of  the  Gospel ;  even 
the  Greek  of  Plato  would  have  '  coldly  furnished  forth' 
the  words  of  '  eternal  life.'  A  religion  which  was  to 
be  universal  required  the  divisions  of  languages,  as  of 
nations,  to  be  in  some  degree  broken  down.  ['  Pcena 
linguariim  dwpersit  Iiomines,  donum  Iwguarum  in  nnum 
cotlegit!^  But  this  community  or  freedom  of  language 
was  accompanied  by  corresponding  defects  ;  it  had  lost 
its  logical  precision ;  it  was  less  coherent ;  and  more 
under  the  influence  of  association.  It  might  be  com- 
pared to  a  garment  which  allowed  and  yet  impeded  the 
exercise  of  the  mind  by  being  too  large  and  loose  for  it. 
From  the  inner  life  of  Scripture  it  is  time  to  pass 
on  to  the  consideration  of  this  outward  form,  including 
that  other  framework  of  modes  of  thought  and  figures 
of  speech  which  is  between  the  two.     A  knowledge 

I  of  the  original  language  is  a  necessary  qualification  of 
the  Interpreter  of  Scripture.     It  takes  away  at  least 


0)1  tJie  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  391 

one  chance  of  error  in  the  explanation  of  a  passage ; 
it  removes  one  of  the  fihns  which  have  gathered  over 
the  paw  ;  it  brink's  the  meanini^  home  in  a  more 
intimate  and  subtle  way  than  a  translation  could  do. 
To  this,  however,  another  qualification  should  be  added, 
which  is,  the  logical  power  to  perceive  the  meaning  of 
words  in  reference  to  their  context.  And  there  is  a  worse 
fault  than  ignorance  of  Greek  in  the  interpretation  of 
the  New  Testament,  that  is,  ignorance  of  any  language. 
The  Greek  fathers,  for  example,  are  far  from  being  the 
best  verbal  commentators,  because  their  knowledge  of 
Greek  often  leads  them  away  from  the  drift  of  the 
passage.  The  minuteness  of  the  study  in  our  own  day 
has  also  a  tendency  to  introduce  into  the  text  associa- 
tions which  are  not  really  found  there.  There  is  a 
dang-er  of  making:  words  mean  too  much  ;  refinements 
of  signification  are  drawn  out  of  them,  perhaps  con- 
tained in  their  etymology,  which  are  lost  in  common 
use  and  parlance.  There  is  the  error  of  interpreting 
every  particle,  as  though  it  were  a  link  in  the  argument, 
instead  of  being,  as  is  often  the  case,  an  excrescence  of 
style.  The  verbal  critic  magnifies  his  art,  which  is 
really  great  in  aEschylus  or  Pindar,  but  not  of  equal 
importance  in  the  interpretation  of  the  simpler  lan- 
guage of  the  New  Testament.  His  love  of  scholarship 
will  sometimes  lead  him  to  impress  a  false  system  on 
words  and  constructions.  A  great  critic*  who  has 
commented  on  the  three  first  chapters  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians,  has  certainly  afibrded  a  proof  that  it  is 
possible  to  read  the  New  Testament  under  a  distorting 
influence  from  classical  Greek.  The  tendency  gains 
support  from  the  undefined  feeling  that  Scripture  does 
not  come  behind  in  excellence  of  language  any  more 
than  of  thought.  And  if  not  as  in  former  days,  the 
classic  purity  of  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  yet 
its  certainty  and  accuracy,  the  assumption  of  which, 

*  Herman. 


392  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

as  any  other  assumption,  is  only  tlie  parent  of  inaccu- 
racy, is  still  maintained. 

The  study  of  the  language  of  the  New  Testament 
has  suffered  in  another  way  by  following  too  much  in 
the  track  of  classical  scholarship.  All  dead  languages 
which  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  grammarians, 
have  given  rise  to  questions  which  have  either  no 
result  or  in  w^hich  the  importance  of  the  result,  or  the 
certainty,  if  certain,  is  out  of  proportion  to  the  labour 
spent  in  attaining  it.  The  field  is  exhausted  by  great 
critics,  and  then  subdivided  among  lesser  ones.  The 
subject,  unlike  that  of  physical  science,  has  a  limit, 
and  unless  new  ground  is  broken  up,  as  for  example 
in  mythology,  or  comparative  philology,  is  apt  to 
grow  barren.  Though  it  is  not  true  to  say  that  '  we 
know  as  much  about  the  Greeks  and  Romans  as  we 
ever  shall,'  it  is  certain  that  we  run  a  danger  from  the 
deficiency  of  material,  of  wasting  time  in  questions 
which  do  not  add  anything  to  real  knowledge,  or  in 
conjectures  which  must  always  remain  uncertain,  and 
may  in  turn  give  way  to  other  conjectures  in  the  next 
generation.  Little  points  may  be  of  great  importance 
when  rightly  determined,  because  the  observation  of 
them  tends  to  quicken  the  instinct  of  language ;  but 
conjectures  about  little  things  or  rules  respecting  them 
which  were  not  in  the  mind  of  Grreek  authors  them- 
selves, are  not  of  equal  value.  There  is  the  scholas- 
ticism of  philology,  not  only  in  the  Alexandrian,  but 
in  our  own  times  ;  as  in  the  middle  ages,  there  was 
the  scholasticism  of  philosophy.  Questions  of  mere 
orthography,  about  which  there  cannot  be  said  to 
have  been  a  right  or  wrong,  have  been  pursued  almost 
with  a  Rabbinical  minuteness.  The  story  of  the 
scholar  who  regretted  '  that  he  had  not  concentrated 
his  life  on  the  dative  case/  is  hardly  a  caricature  of 
the  spirit  of  such  inquiries.  The  form  of  notes  to  the 
classics  often  seems  to  arise  out  of  a  necessity  for  ob- 
serving a  certain  proportion  between  the  commentary 
and  the  text.     And  the  same  tendency  is  noticeable  in 


On  the  Inicrprdcdion  of  Script  ere.  893 

many  of  the  critical  and  philological  observations 
which  are  made  on  the  New  Testament.  The  field 
of  Biblical  criticism  is  narrower,  and  its  materials 
more  fragmentary ;  so  too  the  minuteness  and  nn- 
certainty  of  the  questions  raised  has  been  greater. 
For  example,  the  discussions  respecting  the  chronology 
of  St.  Paul's  life  and  his  second  imprisonment :  or  about 
the  identity  of  James,  the  brother  of  the  Lord,  or  in 
another  department,  respecting  the  use  of  the  Greek 
article,  have  gone  far  beyond  the  line  of  utility. 

There  seem  to  be  reasons  for  doubting  whether  any 
considerable  light  can  be  thrown  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment from  inquiry  into  the  language.  Such  inquiries 
are  popular,  because  they  are  safe  ;  but  their  popularity 
is  not  the  measure  of  their  use.  It  has  not  been 
sufficiently  considered  that  the  difficulties  of  the  New 
Testament  are  for  the  most  part  common  to  the  Greek 
and  the  English.  The  noblest  translation  in  the 
world  has  a  few  great  errors,  more  than  half  of  them 
in  the  text ;  but  '  we  do  it  violence'  to  haggle  over 
the  words.  Minute  corrections  of  tenses  or  particles 
are  no  good ;  they  spoil  the  English  without  being 
nearer  the  Greek,  Apparent  mistranslations  are  often 
due  to  a  better  knowledge  of  English  rather  than  a 
worse  knowledge  of  Greek.  It  is  true  that  the  signifi- 
cation of  a  few  uncommon  expressions,  e.g.,  l^ovaia, 
e7rij3aXtoi',  (Tvi'aTray6/.uvni,  k.t.X.,  is  yet  uncertain.  But 
no  result  of  consequence  would  follow  from  the 
attainment  of  absolute  certainty  respecting  the  mean- 
ing of  any  of  these.  A  more  promising  field  opens  to  the 
interpreter  in  the  examination  of  theological  terms,  such 
as  faith  {-n-icTTiQ),  grace  {^apig),  righteousness  {^iKaioavurj), 
sanctification  {ayiaa/iiog),  the  law  {vo/nog),  the  spirit 
(7n^cu/(io),  the  comforter  {-rrapaKXiiToc;),  &c.,  provided 
always  that  the  use  of  such  terms  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  clearly  separated  (i)  from  their  derivation  or 
previous  use  in  Classical  or  Alexandrian  Greek,  (2) 
from  their  after  use  in  the  Fathers  and  in  systems  of 
theology.      To  which  may  be  added  another  select 


394  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

class  of  Avorcls  descriptive  of  tlie  offices  or  customs  of 
the  Apostolic  Church,  such  as  Apostle  (aTrooroAoc), 
Bishop   (tTTicr/coTroc),  Elder   (irpeafivTipoi:),  Deacon  and 

Deaconess    (o    /cat    ri    SiaKovog),    love-feast    {a-ycnrai),  the 

Lord's  day  (?';  KvpiuKt)  r^nepa),  &c.  It  is  a  lexilogus 
of  these  and  similar  terms,  rather  than  a  lexicon 
of  the  entire  (jreek  Testament  that  is  required. 
Interesting  subjects  of  real  inquiry  are  also  the  com- 
parison of  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament  with 
modern  Grreek  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Greek  of  the 
LXX.  on  the  other.  It  is  not  likely,  however,  that 
they  will  afford  much  more  help  than  they  have  already 
done  in  the  elucidation  of  the  Greek  of  the  New 
Testament. 

It  is  for  others  to  investigate  the  language  of  the 
Old  Testament,  to  which  the  preceding  remarks  are  only 
in  part  applicable.  And  it  may  be  observed  in  passing 
of  this,  as  of  any  other  old  language,  that  not  the  later 
form  of  the  language,  but  the  cognate  dialects,  must 
ever  be  the  chief  source  of  its  illustration.  For  in 
every  ancient  language,  antecedent  or  contemporary 
forms,  not  the  subsequent  ones,  atford  the  real  insight 
into  its  nature  and  structure.  It  must  also  be 
admitted,  that  very  great  and  real  obscurities  exist  in 
the  English  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  which 
even  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  the  original  has  a 
tendency  to  remove.  Leaving,  however,  to  others  the 
consideration  of  the  Semitic  languages  which  raise 
questions  of  a  different  kind  from  the  Hellenistic 
Greek,  we  will  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  latter. 
Much  has  been  said  of  the  increasing  accuracy  of  our 
knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  New  Testan:ient ; 
the  old  Hebraistic  method  of  exj)laining  difficulties  of 
language  or  construction  has  retired  within  very 
narrow  limits ;  it  might  probably  with  advantage  be 
confined  to  still  narrower  ones — [if  it  have  any  place 
at  all  except  in  the  Apocalypse  or  the  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew].     There  is,  perhaps,  some  confusion  between 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  393 

accuracy  of  our  knowledge  of  language,  and  tlie 
accuracy  of  language  itself;  which  is  also  strongly 
maintained.  It  is  observed  that  the  usages  of  bar- 
barous as  well  as  civilized  nations  conform  perfectly  to 
grammatical  rules  ;  that  the  uneducated  in  all  countries 
have  certain  laws  of  speech  as  much  as  Shakespear  or 
Bacon  ;  the  usages  of  Lucian,  it  may  be  said,  are  as 
regular  as  those  of  Plato,  even  when  they  are  different. 
The  decay  of  language  seems  rather  to  witness  to 
the  permanence  than  to  the  changeableness  of  its 
structure  ;  it  is  the  flesh,  not  the  bones,  that  begins  to 
drop  off.  But  such  general  remarks,  although  just, 
afford  but  little  help  in  determining  the  character  of 
the  Greek  of  the  New  Testament,  which  has  of  course 
a  certain  system,  failing  in  which  it  would  cease  to  be 
a  language.  Some  further  illustration  is  needed  of 
the  change  which  has  passed  upon  it.  All  languages 
do  not  decay  in  the  same  manner ;  and  the  influence 
of  decay  in  the  same  language  may  be  different  in 
different  countries ;  when  used  in  writing  and  in 
speaking — when  applied  to  the  matters  of  ordinary 
life  and  to  the  higher  truths  of  philosophy  or  religion. 
And  the  degeneracy  of  language  itself  is  not  a  mere 
principle  of  dissolution,  but  creative  also  ;  while  dead 
and  rigid  in  some  of  its  uses,  it  is  elastic  and  expansive 
in  others.  The  decay  of  an  ancient  language  is  the 
beginning  of  the  construction  of  a  modern  one.  The 
loss  of  some  usages  gives  a  greater  precision  or 
freedom  to  others.  The  logical  element,  as  for  example 
in  the  ]\Iedieval  Latin,  will  probably  be  strongest  when 
the  poetical  has  vanished.  A  great  movement,  like  the 
Reformation  in  Germany,  passing  over  a  nation,  may 
give  a  new  birth  also  to  its  language. 

These  remarks  may  be  applied  to  the  Greek  of  the 
New  Testament,  which  although  classed  vaguely  under 
the  '  common  dialect,'  has,  nevertheless,  many  features 
which  are  altogether  peculiar  to  itself,  and  such  as 
are  found  in  no  other  remains  of  ancient  literature. 


396  On  the  Interjjretaiion  of  Scripture. 

I.  It  is  more  unequal  in  style  even  in  the  same  books, 
that  is  to  say,  more  original  and  plastic  in  one  part, 
more  rigid  and  un pliable  in  another.  There  is  a  want 
of  the  continuous  power  to  frame  a  paragraph  or  to 
arrange  clauses  in  subordination  to  each  other,  even  to 
the  extent  in  which  it  was  possessed  by  a  Greek 
scholiast  or  rhetorician.  On  the  other  hand  there  is 
a  fulness  of  life,  '  a  new  birth,'  in  the  use  of  abstract 
terms  which  is  not  found  elsewhere,  after  the  golden 
age  of  Greek  philosophy.  Almost  the  only  passage 
in  the  New  Testament  which  reads  like  a  Greek  period 
of  the  time,  is  the  first  paragraph  of  the  Gospel 
according  to  St.  Luke,  and  the  corresponding  words 
of  the  Acts.  But  the  power  and  meaning  of  the 
characteristic  words  of  the  New  Testament  is  in 
remarkable  contrast  with  the  vapid  and  general  use  of 
the  same  words  in  Philo  about  the  same  time.  There 
is  also  a  sort  of  lyrical  passion  in  some  passages  (i 
Cor.  xiii.  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  6 — 10;  xi.  21 — 33)  which  is  anew 
thing  in  the  literature  of  tlie  world  ;  to  which,  at  any 
rate,  no  Greek  author  of  a  later  age  furnishes  any 
parallel.  2.  Though  written,  the  Greek  of  the  New 
Testament  partakes  of  the  character  of  a  spoken 
language;  it  is  more  lively  and  simple,  and  less 
structural  than  ordinary  writing — a  peculiarity  of  style 
which  further  agrees  with  the  circumstance  that  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  were  not  written  with  his  own 
hand,  but  probably  dictated  to  an  amanuensis,  and  that 
the  Gospels  also  probably  originate  in  an  oral  narrative. 
3.  The  ground  colours  of  the  language  may  be  said  to 
be  two ;  first,  the  LXX. ;  which  is  modified,  secondly, 
by  the  spoken  Greek  of  eastern  countries,  and  by  the 
differences  which  might  be  expected  to  arise  between 
a  translation  and  an  original ;  many  Hebraisms  would 
occur  in  the  Greek  of  a  translator,  which  would  never 
have  come  to  his  pen  but  for  the  influence  of  the  work 
which  he  was  translating.  4.  To  which  may  be  added 
a  few  Latin  and  Chaldee  words,  and  a  few  Ilabbinical 


On  tlie  Intcrjjvciailon  of  Scripture.  307 

formulas.  The  influence  of  Hebrew  or  Chaldee  in  the 
New  Testament  is  for  the  most  part  at  a  distance,  in 
the  background,  acting  not  directly,  but  mediately, 
through  the  LXX.  It  has  much  to  do  with  the 
clausular  structure  and  general  form,  but  hardly  any- 
thing with  the  grammatical  usage.  Philo  too,  did  not 
know  Hebrew,  or  at  least  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  yet 
there  is  also  a  '  mediate'  influence  of  Hebrew  trace- 
able in  his  writings.  5.  There  is  an  element  of 
constraint  in  the  style  of  the  New  Testament, 
arising  from  the  circumstance  of  its  authors  writing 
in  a  language  which  was  not  their  own.  This  con- 
straint shows  itself  in  the  repetition  of  words  and 
phrases ;  in  the  verbal  oppositions  and  anacolutha 
of  St.  Paul ;  in  the  short  sentences  of  St.  John. 
This  is  further  increased  by  the  fact  that  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  were  '  unlearned  men,' 
who  had  not  the  same  power  of  writing  as  of  speech. 
Moreover,  as  has  been  often  remarked,  the  difficulty 
of  composition  increases  in  proportion  to  the  greatness 
of  the  subject;  e.^.,  the  narrative  of  Thucydides  is 
easy  and  intelligible,  while  his  reflections  and  speeches 
are  full  of  confusion  ;  the  effort  to  concentrate  seems 
to  interfere  with  the  consecutiveness  and  fluency  of 
ideas.  Something  of  this  kind  is  discernible  in  those 
passages  of  the  Epistles  in  which  the  Apostle  St.  Paul 
is  seeking  to  set  forth  the  opposite  sides  of  God's 
dealing  with  man,  e.(/.,  Romans  iii.  i — 9  ;  ix.,  x. ;  or  in 
which  the  sequence  of  the  thought  is  interrupted  by 
the  conflict  of  emotions,  i  Cor.  ix.  20;  Gal.  iv,  11 — 20. 
6.  The  power  of  the  Gospel  over  language  must  be 
recognised,  showing  itself,  first  of  all,  in  the  original 
and  consequently  variable  signification  of  words 
{■n-'iaTig,  yapiq,  (jwrr^pia),  wliich  is  also  more  compre- 
hensive and  human  than  the  heretical  usage  of  many 
of  the  same  terras,  e.^.,  yvwaic  (knowledge),  aocp'ia 
(wisdom),  KTidig  (creature,  creation)  ;  secondly,  in  a 
peculiar  use  of  some  constructions,  such  as —  BiKaioavytj 


398  0)1  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

©fov  (righteousness  of  God),  -Kianq  'Ijjo-ou  Xpiarov 
(faith  of  Jesus  Christ),  ev  Xpiarw  (in  Christ),  tv  Qew  (in 
God),  virep  imCov  (for  us),  in  which  the  meaning  of  the 
genitive  case  or  of  the  preposition  ahnost  escapes  our 
notice,  from  famiharity  with  the  sound  of  it.  Lastly,  the 
degeneracy  of  the  Greek  language  is  traceable  in  the 
failure  of  syntactical  power ;  in  the  insertion  of  pre- 
positions to  denote  relations  of  thought,  which  classical 
Greek  would  have  expressed  by  the  case  only ;  in  the 
omission  of  them  when  classical  Greek  would  have 
required  them  ;  in  the  incipient  use  of  iva  with  the 
subjunctive  for  the  infinitive  ;  in  the  confusion  of  ideas 
of  cause  and  effect ;  in  the  absence  of  the  article  in  the 
case  of  an  increasing  number  of  words  which  are 
passing  into  proper  names  ;  in  the  loss  of  the  finer 
shades  of  difference  in  the  negative  particles  ;  in  the 
occasional  confusion  of  the  aorist  and  perfect ;  in  exces- 
sive fondness  for  particles  of  reasoning  or  inference  ;  in 
various  forms  of  apposition,  especially  that  of  the 
word  to  the  sentence  ;  in  the  use,  sometimes  emphatic, 
sometimes  only  pleonastic,  of  the  personal  and  de- 
monstrative pronouns.  These  are  some  of  the  signs 
that  the  language  is  breaking  up  and  losing  its 
structure. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  New  Testament  is  derived 
almost  exclusively  from  itself.  Of  the  language,  as 
well  as  of  the  subject  it  may  be  truly  said,  that  what 
other  writers  contribute  is  nothing  in  comparison  of 
that  which  is  gained  from  observation  of  the  text. 
Some  inferences  wliich  may  be  gathered  from  this 
general  fact,  are  the  following: — First,  that  less  weight 
should  be  given  to  lexicons,  that  is,  to  the  authority  of 
other  Greek  writers,  and  more  to  the  context.  The 
use  of  a  word  in  a  new  sense,  the  attribution  of  a 
neuter  meaning  to  a  verb  elsewhere  passive,  (Eomans 
iii.  9,  TTpoe-^oneOa),  the  resolution  of  the  compound 
into  two  simple  notions,  (Galatians  iii.  i,  irpoeypacpi}), 
these,  when  the  context  requires  it,  are  not  to  be  set 


On  the  Inlerpretalion  of  Scrijjture.  399 

aside  by  tlie  scliolar  because  sanctioned  l)y  no  known 
examples.  The  same  remark  applies  to  grammars  as 
well  as  lexicons.  We  cannot  be  certain  that  Sm  with 
the  accusative  never  has  the  same  meaning  as  Sm  with 
the  genitive  (Gal.  iv.  13;  Phil.  i.  15),  or  that  the  article 
always  retains  its  defining  power  (2  Cor.  i.  17  ;  Acts 
xvii.  i),  or  that  the  perfect  is  never  used  in  place  of  the 
aorist  (i  Cor.  xv.  4;  Rev.  v.  7,  &c.) ;  still  less  can  we 
affirm  that  the  latter  end  of  a  sentence  never  forgets  the 
beginning  (Rom.  ii.  17 — 31;  v.  12 — 18;  ix.  22;  xvi. 
25 — 27;  &c.  &c.).  Foreign  influences  tend  to  derange 
the  strong  natural  perception  or  remembrance  of  the 
analogy  of  our  own  language.  That  is  very  likely  to 
have  occurred  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament ;  that  there  is  such  a  derangement,  is  a 
fact.  There  is  no  probability  in  favour  of  St.  Paul 
writing  in  broken  sentences,  but  there  is  no  impro- 
bability which  should  lead  us  to  assume,  in  such 
sentences,  continuous  grammar  and  thought,  as  appears 
to  have  been  the  feeling  of  the  copyists  who  have  cor- 
rected the  anacolutha.  The  occurrence  of  them 
further  justifies  the  interpreter  in  using  some  freedom 
with  other  passages  in  which  the  syntax  does  not 
absolutely  break  down.  When  '  confusion  of  two 
constructions,' '  meaning  to  say  one  thing  and  finishing 
w^itli  another ;'  '  saying  two  things  in  one  instead  of 
disposing  them  in  their  logical  sequence,'  are  attributed 
to  the  Apostle  ;  the  use  of  these  and  similar  expres- 
sions is  defended  by  the  fact  that  more  numerous 
anacolutha  occur  in  St  Paul's  writings  than  in  any 
equal  portion  of  the  New  Testament,  and  far  more 
til  an  in  the  writings  of  any  other  Greek  author  of 
equal  length. 

Passing  from  the  grammatical  structure,  we  may 
briefly  consider  the  logical  character  of  the  language 
of  the  New  Testament.  Two  things  should  be  here 
distinguished,  the  logical  form  and  the  logical  sequence 
of   thought.       Some    ages    have    been    remarkable 


400  On  the  I nierp- elation  of  Scrijjiure. 

for  the  former  of  tliese  two  cli<aracteristics ;  the}^  have 
dealt  in  opposition,  contradiction,  climax,  pleonasm, 
reason  within  reason,  and  the  like ;  mere  statements 
taking-  the  form  of  arguments — each  sentence  seeming 
to  be  a  link  in  a  chain.  In  such  periods  of  literature, 
the  appearance  of  logic  is  rhetorical,  and  is  to  be  set 
down  to  the  style.  That  is  the  case  with  many  passages 
in  the  New  Testament  which  are  studded  with  logical 
or  rhetorical  formulae,  especially  in  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul.  Nothing  can  be  more  simple  or  natural  than 
the  object  of  the  writer.  Yet  '  forms  of  the  schools  ' 
appear  (whether  learnt  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  that 
reputed  master  of  Greek  learning,  or  not,)  which  imply 
a  decree  of  lo;2:ical  or  rhetorical  training-. 

The  observation  of  this  rhetorical  or  logical  element 
has  a  bearing  on  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  For 
it  leads  us  to  distinguish  between  the  superficial  con- 
nexion of  words  and  the  real  connexion  of  thoughts. 
Otherwise  injustice  is  done  to  the  argument  of  the 
sacred  writer,  who  may  be  supposed  to  violate  logical 
rules,  of  which  he  is  unconscious.  For  example,  the 
argument  of  Eom.  iii.  19,  may  be  classed  by  the 
logicians  under  some  head  of  fallacy  ('  Ex  aliquo  non 
sequitur  omnis') ;  the  series  of  inferences  which  follow 
one  another  in  Rom.  i.  16 — 18,  are  for  the  most  part 
different  aspects  or  statements  of  the  same  truth. 
So  in  Rom.  i.  32  the  climax  rather  appears  to  be  an 
anticlimax.  But  to  dwell  on  these  things  interferes 
with  the  true  perception  of  the  Apostle's  meaning 
which  is  not  contained  in  the  repetitions  of  -yap  by 
which  it  is  hooked  together ;  nor  are  we  accurately  to 
weigh  the  proportions  expressed  by  his  ov  ^xovov — 
aWa  Koi ;  or  iroX\(o  /.laWov ;  neither  need  we  suppose 
that  where  fih'  is  found  alone,  there  was  a  reason  for  the 
omission  of  Se,  (Rom.  i.  8;  iii.  2);  or  that  the  opposition 
of  words  and  sentences  is  always  the  opposition  of 
ideas  (Rom.  v.  7 ;  x.  10).  It  is  true  that  these  and  similar 
forms  or  distinctions  of  language,  admit  of  translation 


Oil  the  Interj)refation  of  Scripture.  401 

into  English  ;  and  in  eveiy  case  tlie  interpreter  may 
find  some  point  of  view  in  which  the  simplest  truth  of 
feeling  may  be  drawn  out  in  an  antithetical  or  argu- 
mentative form.  But  whether  these  points  of  view 
were  in  the  Apostle's  mind  at  the  time  of  writing  may 
be  doubted ;  the  real  meaning,  or  kernel,  seems  to  he 
deeper  and  to  be  more  within.  When  we  pass  from 
the  study  of  each  verse  to  survey  the  whole  at  a  greater 
distance,  the  form  of  thought  is  again  seen  to  be  unim- 
portant in  comparison  of  the  truth  which  is  contained 
in  it.  The  same  remark  may  be  extended  to  the 
opposition,  not  only  of  words,  but  of  ideas,  which  is 
found  in  the  Scriptures  generally,  and  almost  seems 
to  be  inherent  in  human  language  itself.  The  law 
is  opposed  to  faith,  good  to  evil,  the  spirit  to  the 
flesh,  light  to  darkness,  the  world  to  the  believer; 
the  sheep  are  set  '  on  his  right  hand,  but  the  goats  on 
the  left.'  The  influence  of  this  logical  opposition 
has  been  great  and  not  always  without  abuse  in  prac- 
tice. For  the  opposition  is  one  of  ideas  only  which  is 
not  realized  in  fact.  Experience  shows  us  not  that 
there  are  two  classes  of  men  animated  by  two  oppos- 
ing principles,  but  an  infinite  number  of  classes  or 
individuals  from  the  lowest  depth  of  misery  and  sin  to 
the  highest  perfection  of  which  human  nature  is  ca- 
pable, the  best  not  wholly  good,  the  worst  not  entirely 
evil.  But  the  figure  or  mode  of  representation  changes 
these  difierences  of  degree  into  differences  of  kind. 
And  we  often  think  and  speak  and  act  in  reference  both 
to  ourselves  and  others,  as  though  the  figure  were 
altogether  a  reality. 

Other  questions  arise  out  of  the  analysis  of  the 
modes  of  thought  of  Scripture.  Unless  we  are  willing 
to  use  words  without  inquiring  into  their  meaning,  it  is 
necessary  for  us  to  arrange  them  in  some  relation 
to  our  own  minds.  The  modes  of  thought  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  not  the  same  with  those  of  the 
New,  and  those  of  the  New  are  only  partially  the 


402  On  the  Interjpr elation  of  Scripture. 

same  with  those  in  use  among  ourselves  at  the  present 
day.  The  education  of  the  human  mind  may  be 
traced  as  clearly  from  the  Book  of  Genesis  to  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  as  from  Homer  to  Plato  and 
Aristotle.  When  we  hear  St.  Paul  speaking  of 
'  body  and  soul  and  spirit/  we  know  that  such  lan- 
guage as  this  would  not  occur  in  the  Books  of  Moses 
or  in  the  Prophet  Isaiah.  It  has  the  colour  of  a  later 
age,  in  which  abstract  terms  have  taken  the  place  of 
expressions  derived  from  material  objects.  When  we 
proceed  further  to  compare  these  or  other  words  or 
expressions  of  St.  Paul  with  '  the  body  and  mind,'  or 
'  mind'  and  '  matter,'  which  is  a  distinction,  not  only  of 
philosophy,  but  of  common  language  among  ourselves, 
it  is  not  easy  at  once  to  determine  the  relation  between 
them.  Familiar  as  is  the  sound  of  both  expressions, 
many  questions  arise  when  we  begin  to  compare  them. 

This  is  the  metaphysical  difficulty  in  the  Interpre- 
tation of  Scripture,  which  it  is  better  not  to  ignore, 
because  the  consideration  of  it  is  necessary  to  the 
understanding  of  many  passages,  and  also  because  it 
may  return  upon  us  in  the  form  of  materialism  or 
scepticism.  To  some  who  are  not  aware  how  little 
words  afiect  the  nature  of  things  it  may  seem  to  raise 
speculations  of  a  very  serious  kind.  Their  doubts 
would,  perhaps,  find  expression  in  some  such  excla- 
mations as  the  following  — '  How  is  religion  possible 
when  modes  of  thought  are  shifting  ?  and  words 
changing  their  meaning,  and  statements  of  doctrine 
though  '  starched'  with  philosophy,  are  in  perpetual 
danger  of  dissolution  from  metaphysical  analj^sis  ?' 

The  answer  seems  to  be,  that  Christian  truth  is  not 
dependent  on  the  fixedness  of  modes  of  thought.  The 
metaphysician  may  analyse  the  ideas  of  the  mind  just 
as  the  physiologist  may  analyse  the  powers  or  parts 
of  the  bodily  frame,  yet  morality  and  social  life  still 
go  on,  as  in  the  body  digestion  is  uninterrupted. 
That  is  not  an  illustration  only;  it  represents  thefiict. 
Though   we  had  no  words  for   mind,  matter,   soul. 


On  the  Interpretation  of  ScrijAure.  403 

body,  and  the  like,  Christianity  would  remain  the 
same.  This  is  obvious,  whether  we  think  of  the  case 
of  the  poor,  who  understand  such  distinctions  very 
imperfectly,  or  of  those  nations  of  the  earth,  who  have 
no  precisely  corresponding  division  of  ideas.  It  is 
not  of  that  subtle  or  evanescent  character  which  is 
liable  to  be  lost  in  shifting  the  use  of  terms.  Indeed, 
it  is  an  advantage  at  times  to  discard  these  terms  with 
the  view  of  getting  rid  of  the  oppositions  to  which 
they  give  rise.  No  metaphysical  analysis  can  prevent ; 
'our  taking  up  the  cross  and  following  Christ,'  or  receiv- 
ing the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  little  children.  To  analyse 
the  '  trichotomy'  of  St.  Paul  is  interesting  as  a  chapter 
in  the  history  of  the  human  mind  and  necessary  as  a 
part  of  Biblical  exegesis,  but  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  religion  of  Christ.  Christian  duties  may  be  en- 
forced, and  the  life  of  Christ  may  be  the  centre  of  our 
thoughts,  whether  we  speak  of  reason  and  faith,  of 
soul  and  body,  or  of  mind  and  matter,  or  adopt  a  mode 
of  speech  wdiich  dispenses  with  any  of  these  divisions. 
Connected  with  the  modes  of  thought  or  represen- 
tation in  Scripture,  are  the  figures  of  speech  of 
Scripture,  about  which  the  same  question  may  be 
asked :  '  What  division  can  we  make  between  the 
figure  and  the  reality  ?'  And  the  answer  seems  to  be 
of  the  same  kind,  that  '  AVe  cannot  precisely  draw  the 
line  between  them.'  Language,  and  especially  tlie 
language  of  Scripture,  does  not  admit  of  any  sharp 
distinction.  The  simple  expressions  of  one  age  become 
the  allegories  or  figures  of  another  ;  many  of  those  in 
the  New  Testament  are  taken  from  the  Old.  But  neither 
is  there  anything  really  essential  in  the  form  of  these 
figures  ;  nay,  the  literal  application  of  many  of  them 
has  been  a  great  stumblingblock  to  the  reception  of 
Christianity.  A  recent  commentator  on  Scripture 
appears  willing  to  peril  religion  on  the  literal  truth  of 
such  an  expression  as  *  AYe  shall  be  caught  up  to  meet 
the  Lord  in  tlie  air.'     Would  he  be  equally  ready  to 

D    D    2 


404  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

stake  Christianity  on  the  literal  meaning  of  tlie  words, 
'  Where  their  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire  is  not 
quenched  ?' 

Of  what  has  been  said,  this  is  the  sum  ; — '  That 
Scripture,  like  other  books,  has  one  meaning,  which  is 
to  be  gathered  from  itself  without  reference  to  the 
adaptations  of  Fathers  or  Divines  ;  and  without  regard 
to  a  priori  notions  about  its  nature  and  origin.  It  is 
to  be  interpreted  like  other  books,  with  attention  to 
the  character  of  its  authors,  and  the  prevailing  state 
of  civilization  and  knowledge,  with  allowance  for 
peculiarities  of  style  and  language,  and  modes  of 
thought  and  figures  of  speech.  Yet  not  without  a 
sense  that  as  w^e  read  there  grows  upon  us  the 
witness  of  God  in  the  world,  anticipating  in  a  rude 
and  primitive  age  the  truth  that  was  to  be,  shining 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day  in  the  life  of 
Christ,  which  again  is  reflected  from  different  points 
of  view  in  the  teaching  of  His  Apostles.' 

It  has  been  a  principal  aim  of  the  preceding  pages 
to  distinguish  the  interpretation  from  the  application 
of  Scripture.  Many  of  the  errors  alluded  to,  arise  out 
of  a  confusion  of  the  two.  The  present  is  nearer  to 
us  than  the  past ;  the  circumstances  which  surround 
us  pre-occupy  our  thoughts  ;  it  is  only  by  an  eflbrt 
that  we  reproduce  the  ideas,  or  events,  or  persons  of 
other  ages.  And  thus,  quite  naturally,  almost  by  a 
law  of  the  human  mind,  the  application  of  Scripture 
takes  the  place  of  its  original  meaning.  And  the 
question  is,  not  how  to  get  rid  of  this  natural  ten- 
dency, but  how  we  ma}^  have  the  true  use  of  it.  For 
it  cannot  be  got  rid  of,  or  rather  is  one  of  the  chief 
instruments  of  religious  usefulness  in  the  world : 
'  Ideas  must  be  given  through  something ;'  those  of 
religion  find  their  natural  expression  in  the  words  of 
Scripture,  in  the  adaptation  of  which  to  another  state 


On  the  Tnierjiretai'wn  of  Scripture.  405 

of  life  it  is  liardly  possible  that  the  first  intention  of 
the  writers  should  be  always  preserved.  Interpreta- 
tion is  the  province  of  few ;  it  requires  a  finer  per- 
ception of  language.,  and  a  higher  degree  of  cultiva- 
tion than  is  attained  by  the  majority  of  mankind. 
But  applications  are  made  by  all,  from  the  philosopher 
reading  '  God  in  History,'  to  the  poor  woman  who 
finds  in  them  a  response  to  her  prayers,  and  the  solace 
of  her  daily  life.  In  the  hour  of  death  we  do  not 
want  critical  explanations;  in  most  cases,  those  to 
whom  they  Avould  be  offered  are  incapable  of  under- 
standing them.  A  few  words,  breathing  the  sense  of 
the  whole  Christian  world,  such  as  '  I  know  that  my 
Redeemer  liveth'  (though  the  exact  meaning  of  them 
may  be  doubtful  to  the  Hebrew  scholar)  ;  '  I  shall  go 
to  him,  but  he  shall  not  return  to  me ;'  touch  a  chord 
which  would  never  be  reached  by  the  most  skilful  ex- 
position of  the  argument  of  one  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 
There  is  also  a  use  of  Scripture  in  education  and 
literature.  This  literary  use,  though  secondary  to 
the  religious  one,  is  not  unimportant.  It  supplies  a 
common  language  to  the  educated  and  uneducated,  in 
which  the  best  and  highest  thoughts  of  both  are 
expressed ;  it  is  a  medium  between  the  abstract 
notions  of  the  one  and  the  simple  feelings  of  the 
other.  To  the  poor  especially,  it  conveys  in  the  form 
which  they  are  most  capable  of  receiving,  the  lesson  of 
history  and  life.  The  beauty  and  power  of  speech 
and  writing  would  be  greatly  impaired,  if  the  Scrip- 
tures ceased  to  be  known  or  used  among  us.  The 
orator  seems  to  catch  from  them  a  sort  of  inspiration  ; 
in  the  simple  words  of  Scripture  which  he  stamps 
anew,  the  philosopher  often  finds  his  most  pregnant 
expressions.  If  modern  times  have  been  richer  in 
the  wealth  of  abstract  thought,  the  contribution  of 
earlier  ages  to  the  mind  of  the  world  has  not  been 
less,  but,  perhaps  greater,  in  supplying  the  poetry  of 
language.     There  is  no  such  treasury  of  instruments 


406  On  the  Interpretation  of  Script  are. 

and  materials  as  Scripture.  The  loss  of  Homer,  or  the 
loss  of  Shakespear,  would  have  affected  the  whole 
series  of  Greek  or  English  authors  who  follow.  But 
the  disappearance  of  the  Bible  from  the  books  which 
the  world  contains,  would  produce  results  far  greater ; 
Ave  can  scarcely  conceive  the  degree  in  which  it  would 
alter  literature  and  language — the  ideas  of  the  edu- 
cated and  philosophical,  as  well  as  the  feelings  and 
habits  of  mind  of  the  poor.  If  it  has  been  said,  with 
an  allowable  hyperbole,  that  .'Homer  is  Greece,' 
with  much  more  trutli  may  it  be  said,  that  '  the  Bible 
is  Christendom.' 

Many  by  whom  considerations  of  this  sort  will  be 
little  understood,  may,  nevertheless,  recognise  the  use 
made  of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New.  The  religion 
of  Christ  was  first  taught  by  an  application  of  the 
words  of  the  Psalms  and  the  Prophets.  Our  Lord 
Himself  sanctions  this  application.  'Can  there  be  a 
better  use  of  Scripture  than  that  which  is  made  by 
Scripture  ?'  '  Or  any  more  likely  method  of  teaching 
the  trutlis  of  Cliristianity  than  that  by  which  they 
were  first  taught  ?'  For  it  may  be  argued  that  the 
critical  interpretation  of  Scripture  is  a  device  almost 
of  yesterday ;  it  is  the  vocation  of  the  scholar  or 
philosopher,  not  of  the  Apostle  or  Prophet.  The  new 
truth  which  was  introduced  into  the  Old  Testament, 
rather  than  the  old  truth  which  was  found  there,  was 
the  salvation  and  the  conversion  of  the  world.  There 
are  many  quotations  from  the  Psalms  and  the 
Prophets  in  the  Epistles,  in  which  the  meaning  is 
quickened  or  spiritualized,  but  hardly  any,  probably 
none,  which  is  based  on  the  original  sense  or  con- 
text. That  is  not  so  singular  a  phenomenon  as 
may  at  first  sight  be  imagined.  It  may  appear 
strange  to  us  that  Scripture  should  be  inter- 
preted in  Scripture,  in  a  manner  not  altogether  in 
agreement  with  modern  criticism ;  but  would  it 
not  be  more  strange  that  it  should  be  interpreted 
otherwise    than    in   agreement    with    the    ideas    of 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture,  407 

the  age  or  country  in  which  it  was  written  ?  The 
observation  that  there  is  such  an  agreement,  leads  to 
two  conclusions  which  have  a  bearing  on  our  present 
subject.  First,  it  is  a  reason  for  not  insisting  on  the 
applications  which  the  New  Testament  makes  of 
passages  in  the  Old,  as  their  original  meaning. 
Secondly,  it  gives  authority  and  precedent  for  the  use 
of  similar  applications  in  our  own  day. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  though  interwoven  with 
literature,  though  common  to  all  ages  of  tlie  Church, 
though  sanctioned  by  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  sucli  an  employment  of  Scripture  is 
liable  to  error  and  perversion.  For  it  may  not  only 
receive  a  new  meaning  ;  it  may  be  applied  in  a  spirit 
alien  to  itself.  It  may  become  the  symbol  of  fanati- 
cism, the  cloke  of  malice,  the  disguise  of  policy. 
Cromwell  at  Drogheda,  quoting  Scripture  to  his 
soldiers ;  the  well-known  attack  on  the  Puritans  in 
the  State  Service  for  the  Eestoration,  '  Not  every  one 
that  saitli  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord ;'  the  reply  of  the 
Venetian  Ambassador  to  the  suggestion  of  Wolsey, 
that  Venice  should  take  a  lead  in  Italy,  '  which  was 
only  the  Earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof/ 
are  examples  of  such  uses.  In  former  times,  it  was  a 
real  and  not  an  imaginary  fear,  that  the  wars  of  the 
Lord  in  the  Old  Testament  might  arouse  a  fire  in  the 
bosom  of  Franks  and  Huns.  In  our  own  day  such 
dangers  have  passed  away;  it  is  only  a  figure  of 
speech  when  the  preacher  says,  '  Gird  on  thy  sword, 
0  thou  most  mighty.'  The  warlike  passions  of  men 
are  not  roused  by  quotations  from  Scripture,  nor  can 
states  of  life  such  as  slavery  or  polygamy  which 
belong  to  a  past  age,  be  defended,  at  least  in  England, 
by  the  example  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  danger  or 
error  is  of  another  kind  ;  more  subtle,  but  hardly  less 
real.  For  if  we  are  permitted  to  apply  Scripture 
under  the  pretence  of  interpreting  it,  the  language  of 
Scripture  becomes  only  a  mode  of  expressing  the 
public  feehng   or    opinion   of  our   own   day.      Any 


408  On  the  InierjJretation  of  Scrijjfiu'e. 

passing  phase  of  politics  or  art,  or  spurious  plii- 
lanthropy,  may  have  a  kind  of  Scriptural  authority. 
The  words  that  are  used  are  the  words  of  the  Prophet 
or  Evangelist,  but  we  stand  behind  and  adapt  them  to 
our  purpose.  Hence  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the 
limits  and  manner  of  a  just  adaptation ;  how  much 
may  be  allowed  for  the  sake  of  ornament ;  how  far  the 
Scripture,  in  all  its  details,  may  be  regarded  as  an 
allegory  of  human  life — where  the  true  analogy 
begins — how  far  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  will 
serve  as  a  corrective  to  its  practical  abuse. 

Truth  seems  to  require  that  we  should  separate 
mere  adaptations,  from  the  original  meaning  of  Scrip- 
ture. It  is  not  honest  or  reasonable  to  confound 
illustration  with  argument,  in  theology,  any  more  than 
in  other  subjects.  For  example,  if  a  preacher  chooses 
to  represent  the  condition  of  a  church  or  of  an  indi- 
vidual in  the  present  day,  under  the  figure  of  Elijah 
left  alone  among  the  idolatrous  tribes  of  Israel,  such 
an  allusion  is  natural  enough  ;  but  if  he  goes  on  to 
argue  that  individuals  are  therefore  justified  in  re- 
maining in  what  they  believe  to  be  an  erroneous  com- 
munion— that  is  a  mere  appearance  of  argument 
which  ought  not  to  have  the  slightest  weight  with  a 
man  of  sense.  Such  a  course  may  indeed  be  perfectly 
justifiable,  but  not  on  the  ground  that  a  prophet  of 
the  Lord  once  did  so,  two  thousand  five  hundred  years 
ago.  Not  in  this  sense  were  the  lives  of  the  Prophets 
written  for  our  instruction.  There  are  many  impor- 
tant morals  conveyed  by  them,  but  only  so  far  as  they 
themselves  represent  universal  principles  of  justice 
and  love.  These  universal  principles  they  clothe  with 
flesh  and  blood  :  they  show  them  to  us  written  on  the 
hearts  of  men  of  like  passions  with  ourselves.  The 
prophecies,  again,  admit  of  many  applications  to  the 
Christian  Church  or  to  the  Christian  life.  There  is 
no  harm  in  speaking  of  the  Church  as  the  Spiritual 
Israel,  or  in  using  the  imagery  of  Isaiah  respecting 


Oil  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  400 

Messiah's  kingdom,  as  the  type  of  good  things  to 
come.  But  when  it  is  gravely  urged,  that  from  such 
passages  as  '  Kings  shall  be  thy  nursing  fathers,'  we 
are  to  collect  the  relations  of  Church  and  State,  or 
from  the  pictorial  description  of  Isaiah,  that  it  is  to 
be  inferred  there  will  be  a  reign  of  Christ  on  earth — 
that  is  a  mere  assumption  of  the  forms  of  reasoning 
by  tlie  imagination.  Nor  is  it  a  healthful  or  manly 
tone  of  feeling  which  depicts  the  political  opposition 
to  the  Church  in  our  own  day,  under  imagery  which 
is  borrowed  from  the  desolate  Sion  of  the  captivity. 
Scripture  is  apt  to  come  too  readily  to  the  lips,  when 
we  are  pouring  out  our  own  weaknesses,  or  enlarging 
on  some  favourite  theme — perhaps  idealizing  in  the 
language  of  prophecy  the  feebleness  of  preaching  or 
missions  in  the  present  day,  or  from  the  want  of 
something  else  to  say.  In  many  discussions  on  these 
and  similar  subjects,  the  position  of  the  Jewish  King, 
Church,  Priest,  has  led  to  a  confusion,  partly  caused 
by  the  use  of  similar  words  in  modern  senses  among 
ourselves.  The  King  or  Queen  of  England  may  be 
called  the  Anointed  of  the  Lord,  but  we  should  not 
therefore  imply  that  the  attributes  of  sovereignty  are 
the  same  as  those  which  belonged  to  King  David. 
All  these  are  figures  of  speech,  the  employment  of 
Avliich  is  too  common,  and  has  been  injurious  to 
religion,  because  it  prevents  our  looking  at  the  facts 
of  history  or  life  as  they  truly  are. 

This  is  the  first  step  towards  a  more  truthful  use  of 
Scripture  in  practice — the  separation  of  adaptation 
from  interpretation.  No  one  who  is  engaged  in 
preaching  or  in  religious  instruction  can  be  required 
to  give  up  Scripture  language ;  it  is  the  common  ele- 
ment in  which  his  thoughts  and  those  of  his  hearers 
move.  But  he  may  be  asked  to  distinguish  the  words 
of  Scripture  from  the  truths  of  Scripture — the  means 
from  the  end.  The  least  expression  of  Scripture  is 
weighty ;  it  affects  the  minds  of  the  hearers  in  a  way 


410  Oil  the  Iiiterjiretation  of  Scripture. 

tliat  no  otlier  language  can.  Whatever  responsibility 
attaches  to  idle  words,  attaches  in  still  greater  degree 
to  the  idle  or  fallacious  use  of  Scripture  terms.  And 
there  is  surely  a  want  of  proper  reverence  for  Scrip- 
ture, when  we  confound  the  weakest  and  feeblest  ap- 
plications of  its  words  with  their  true  meaning — when 
we  avail  ourselves  of  their  natural  power  to  point 
them  against  some  enemy — when  we  divert  the  eter- 
nal words  of  charity  and  truth  into  a  defence  of  some 
passing  opinion.  For  not  only  in  the  days  of  the 
Pharisees,  but  in  our  own,  the  letter  has  been  taking 
the  place  of  the  spirit ;  the  least  matters,  of  the  greatest, 
and  the  primary  meaning  has  been  lost  in  the  secon- 
dary use. 

Other  simple  cautions  may  also  be  added.  The 
applications  of  Scripture  should  be  harmonized  and, 
as  it  were,  interpenetrated  with  the  spirit  of  the 
(3-ospel,  the  whole  of  which  should  be  in  every  part ; 
though  the  words  may  receive  a  new  sense,  the  new 
sense  ought  to  be  in  agreement  with  the  general  truth. 
They  should  be  used  to  bring  home  practical  precepts, 
not  to  send  the  imagination  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  ; 
they  are  not  the  real  foundation  of  our  i'aith  in  another 
world,  nor  can  they,  by  pleasant  pictures,  add  to  our 
knowledge  of  it.  They  should  not  confound  the  acci- 
dents with  the  essence  of  religion — the  restrictions 
and  burdens  of  the  Jewish  law  with  the  freedom  of 
the  Gospel — the  things  which  Moses  allowed  for  the 
hardness  of  the  heart,  with  the  perfection  of  the  teach- 
ing of  Christ.  They  should  avoid  the  form  of  argu- 
ments, or  they  will  insensibly  be  used,  or  understood 
to  mean  more  than  they  really  do.  They  should  be 
subjected  to  an  overruling  principle,  which  is  the  heart 
and  conscience  of  the  Christian  teacher,  who  indeed 
'  stands  behind  them,'  not  to  make  them  the  vehicles 
of  his  own  opinions,  but  as  the  expressions  of  justice, 
and  truth,  and  love. 

And  here  the    critical  interpretation  of   Scripture 


0)1  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  411 

comes  in  and  exercises  a  corrective  influence  on  its 
popular  use.  We  have  already  admitted  that  criticism 
is  not  for  the  multitude  ;  it  is  not  that  which  the  Scrip- 
ture terms  the  Gospel  preached  to  the  poor.  Yet, 
indirectly  passing  from  the  few  to  the  many,  it  has 
borne  a  great  part  in  the  Reformation  of  religion.  It 
has  cleared  the  eye  of  the  mind  to  understand  the 
original  meaning.  It  was  a  sort  of  criticism  which 
supported  the  struggle  of  the  sixteenth  century 
against  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ;  it  is  criti- 
cism that  is  leadin":  Protestants  to  doubt  whe- 
ther  the  doctrine  that  the  Pope  is  Antichrist,  which 
has  descended  from  the  same  period,  is  really  discove- 
rable in  Scripture.  Even  the  isolated  thinker,  against 
whom  the  religious  world  is  taking  up  arms,  has  an 
influence  on  his  opponents  The  force  of  observa- 
tions, which  are  based  on  reason  and  fact,  remains 
when  the  tide  of  religious  or  party  feeling  is  gone 
down.  Criticism  has  also  a  healing  influence  in  clear- 
ing away  what  may  be  termed  the  Sectarianism  of 
knowledge.  Without  criticism  it  would  be  impossible 
to  reconcile  History  and  Science  with  Revealed  Reli- 
gion ;  they  must  remain  for  ever  in  a  hostile  and 
defiant  attitude.  Instead  of  being  like  other  records, 
subject  to  the  conditions  of  knowledge  which  existed 
in  an  early  stage  of  the  world,  Scripture  would  be  re- 
garded on  the  one  side  as  the  work  of  organic  Inspi- 
ration, and  as  a  lying  imposition  on  the  other. 

The  real  unity  of  Scripture,  as  of  man,  has  also  a 
relation  to  our  present  subject.  Amid  all  the  differ- 
ences of  modes  of  thought  and  speech  which  have 
existed  in  different  ages,  of  which  much  is  said  in  our 
own  day,  there  is  a  common  element  in  human  nature 
which  bursts  through  these  differences  and  remains 
unchanged,  because  akin  to  the  first  instincts  of  our 
being.  The  simple  feeling  of  truth  and  right  is  the 
same  to  the  Greek  or  Hindoo  as  to  ourselves.  How- 
ever great  may  be  the  diversities  of  human  character, 


412  Oil  the  Interjn'etation  of  Scripture. 

there  is  a  point  at  which  these  diversities  end,  and 
unity  begins  to  appear.  Now  this  admits  of  an  ap- 
plication to  the  books  of  Scripture,  as  well  as  to  the 
world  generally.  Written  at  many  different  times,  in 
more  than  one  language,  some  of  them  in  fragments, 
they,  too,  have  a  common  element  of  which  the 
preacher  may  avail  himself.  This  element  is  two- 
fold, partly  divine  and  partly  human  ;  the  revelation 
of  the  truth  and  righteousness  of  God,  and  the  cry  of 
the  human  heart  towards  Him.  Every  part  of  Scrip- 
ture tends  to  raise  us  above  ourselves — to  give  us  a 
deeper  sense  of  the  feebleness  of  man,  and  of  the 
wisdom  and  power  of  God.  It  has  a  sort  of  kindred, 
as  Plato  would  say,  with  religious  truth  everywhere 
in  the  world.  It  agrees  also  with  the  imperfect  stages 
of  knowledge  and  faith  in  human  nature,  and  answers 
to  its  inarticulate  cries.  The  universal  truth  easily 
breaks  through  the  accidents  of  time  and  place  in 
which  it  is  involved.  Although  we  cannot  apply 
Jewish  institutions  to  the  Christian  world,  or  venture 
in  reliance  on  some  text  to  resist  the  tide  of  civilization 
on  which  we  are  borne,  yet  it  remains,  nevertheless,  to 
us,  as  well  as  to  the  Jews  and  first  Christians,  that 
'  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,'  and  that  '  love  is 
the  fulfilling  not  of  the  Jewish  law  only,  but  of  all 
law.' 

In  some  cases,  we  have  only  to  enlarge  the  meaning 
of  Scripture  to  apply  it  even  to  the  novelties  and 
peculiarities  of  our  own  times.  The  world  changes, 
but  the  human  heart  remains  the  same ;  events  and 
details  are  different,  but  the  principle  by  which  they 
are  governed,  or  the  rule  by  which  we  are  to  act,  is 
not  different.  When,  for  example,  our  Saviour  says, 
'  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make 
you  free,'  it  is  not  likely  that  these  words  would  have 
conveyed  to  the  minds  of  the  Jews  who  heard  Him 
any  notion  of  the  perplexities  of  doubt  or  inquiry. 
Yet  we  cannot  suppose  that  our  Saviour,  were  He  to 


On  the  Interjoretatiou  of  Scrijjtnre.  413 

come  again  upon  earth,  would  refuse  tlius  to  extend 
them.  The  Apostle  St.  Paul,  when  describing  the 
Gospel,  which  is  to  the  Greek  foolishness,  speaks  also 
of  a  hio-her  wisdom  which  is  known  to  those  who  are 
perfect.  Neither  is  it  unfair  for  us  to  apply  this  pas- 
sage to  that  reconcilement  of  faith  and  knowledge, 
which  may  be  termed  Christian  philosophy,  as  the 
nearest  equivalent  to  its  language  in  our  own  day. 
Such  words,  again,  as  '  Why  seek  ye  the  living  among 
the  dead  ?'  admit  of  a  great  variety  of  adaptations 
to  the  circumstances  of  our  own  time.  Many  of 
these  adaptations  have  a  real  germ  in  the  meaning  of 
the  words.  The  precept,  '  Render  unto  Csesar  the 
things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that 
are  God's,'  may  be  taken  generally  as  expressing  the 
necessity  of  distinguishing  the  divine  and  human — the 
thino-s  that  belono-  to  faith  and  the  thin£rs  tliat  beloncr 
to  experience.  It  is  worth  remarking  in  the  applica- 
tion made  of  these  words  by  Lord  Bacon,  '  Da  fidei 
quse  fidei  sunt ;'  that,  although  tlie  terms  are  altered, 
yet  the  circumstance  that  the  form  of  the  sentence  is 
borrowed  from  Scripture  gives  tliem  point  and  weight. 
The  portion  of  Scripture  which  more  than  any 
other  is  immediately  and  universally  applicable  to  our 
own  times  is,  doubtless,  that  which  is  contained  in  the 
words  of  Christ  Himself.  The  reason  is  that  they  are 
words  of  the  most  universal  import.  They  do  not 
relate  to  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  but  to  the 
common  life  of  all  mankind.  You  cannot  extract 
from  them  a  political  creed ;  only,  '  Render  unto 
C?esar  the  things  that  are  Csesar's,'  and  '  The  Scribes 
and  Pharisees  sit  in  Moses'  seat ;  whatsoever,  there- 
fore, they  say  unto  you  do,  but  after  their  works  do 
not.'  They  present  to  us  a  standard  of  truth  and 
duty,  such  as  no  one  can  at  once  and  immediately 
practise — such  as,  in  its  perfection,  no  one  has  fulfilled 
in  this  world.  But  tliis  idealism  does  not  interfere 
witli  their  influence  as  a  religious   lesson.      Ideals, 


414  On  the  Inter-relation  of  Scrijjfure. 

even  though  unrealized,  have  effect  on  our  daily  life. 
The  preacher  of  the  Gospel  is,  or  'ought  to  be,  aware 
that  his  calls  to  repentance,  his  standard  of  obliga- 
tions, his  lamentations  over  his  own  shortcomings  or 
those  of  others,  do  not  at  once  convert  hundreds  or 
thousands,  as  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Yet  it  does 
not  follow  that  they  are  thrown  away,  or  that  it  would 
be  well  to  substitute  for  them  mere  prudential  or 
economical  lessons,  lectures  on  health  or  sanitary  im- 
provement. For  they  tend  to  raise  men  above  them- 
selves, providing  them  with  Sabbaths  as  well  as  work- 
ing days,  giving  them  a  taste  of  '  the  good  word  of  God' 
and  of  '  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come.'  Human 
nature  needs  to  be  idealized ;  it  seems  as  if  it  took  a 
dislike  to  itself  when  presented  always  in  its  ordinary 
attire  ;  it  lives  on  in  the  hope  of  becoming  better.  And 
the  image  or  hope  of  a  better  life — the  vision  of  Christ 
crucified — which  is  held  up  to  it,  doubtless  has  an  in- 
fluence ;  not  like  the  rushing  mighty  wind  of  the  da}" 
of  Pentecost ;  it  may  rather  be  compared  to  the 
leaven  '  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three  measures 
of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened.' 

The  Parables  of  our  Lord  are  a  portion  of  the  New 
Testament,  which  we  may  apply  in  the  most  easy  and 
literal  manner.  The  persons  in  them  are  the  persons 
among  whom  we  live  and  move ;  there  are  times  and 
occasions  at  which  the  truths  symbolized  by  them 
come  home  to  the  hearts  of  all  who  have  ever  been 
impressed  by  religion.  We  have  been  prodigal 
sons  returning  to  our  Father;  servants  to  whom 
talents  have  been  entrusted ;  labourers  in  the  vineyard 
inclined  to  murmur  at  our  lot,  when  compared  with 
that  of  others,  yet  receiving  every  man  his  due  ;  well- 
satisfied  Pharisees  ;  repentant  Publicans  : — we  have 
received  the  seed,  and  the  cares  of  the  world  have 
choked  it — we  hope  also  at  times  that  we  have  found 
the  pearl  of  great  price  after  sweeping  the  house — we 
are  ready  like  the  Good  Samaritan  to  show  kindness 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  415 

to  all  mankind.  Of  these  circumstances  of  life  or 
phases  of  mind,  which  are  typified  by  the  parables, 
most  Christians  have  experience.  We  may  go  on  to 
apply  many  of  them  further  to  the  condition  of  nations 
and  churches.  Such  a  treasury  has  Christ  provided 
us  of  things  new  and  old,  which  refer  to  all  time 
and  all  mankind — may  we  not  say  in  His  own  words — 
*  Because  He  is  the  Son  of  Man  ?' 

There  is  no  language  of  Scripture  which  penetrates 
the  individual  soul,  and  embraces  all  the  world  in  the 
arms  of  its  love,  in  the  same  manner  as  that  of  Christ 
Himself.  Yet  the  Epistles  contain  lessons  wliich  are 
not  found  in  the  Gospels,  or,  at  least,  not  expressed 
with  the  same  degree  of  clearness.  For  the  Epistles 
are  nearer  to  actual  life — they  relate  to  the  circum- 
stances of  the  first  believers,  to  their  struggles  with 
the  world  without,  to  their  temptations  and  divisions 
from  within — their  subject  is  not  only  the  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  religion,  but  the  business  of  the  early 
Church.  And  although  their  circumstances  are  not 
our  circumstances — we  are  not  afflicted  or  persecuted, 
or  driven  out  of  the  world,  but  in  possession  of  the 
blessings,  and  security,  and  property  of  an  esta- 
blished religion — j^t  there  is  a  Christian  spirit  which 
infuses  itself  into  all  circumstances,  of  which  they  are 
a  pure  and  living  source.  It  is  impossible  to  gather 
from  a  few  fragmentary  and  apparently  not  always 
consistent  expressions,  how  the  Communion  was  cele- 
brated, or  the  Church  ordered,  what  was  the  relative 
position  of  Presbyters  and  Deacons,  or  the  nature  of 
the  gift  of  tongues,  as  a  rule  for  the  Church  in  after 
ages  ; — such  inquiries  have  no  certain  answer,  and  at 
the  best,  are  only  the  subject  of  honest  curiosit}^  But 
the  words,  '  Charity  never  faileth,'  and  '  Though  I 
speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing,' — these  have  a  voice 
which  reaches  to  the  end  of  time.  There  are  no 
questions   of  meats  and  drinks    no\v-a-days,  yet  the 


416  On  the  Interpret ati07i  of  Scripture. 

noble  words  of  the  Apostle  remain :  '  If  meat  make 
my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no  flesh  while 
the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  of- 
fend.' Moderation  in  controversy,  toleration  towards 
opponents,  or  erring  members,  is  a  virtue  which  has 
been  thought  by  many  to  belong  to  the  develop- 
ment and  not  to  the  origin  of  Christianity,  and  which 
is  rarely  found  in  the  commencement  of  a  religion. 
But  lessons  of  toleration  may  be  gathered  from  the 
Apostle,  which  have  not  yet  been  learned  either  by  theo- 
logians or  by  mankind  in  general.  The  persecutions 
and  troubles  which  awaited  the  Apostle,  no  longer 
await  us  ;  we  cannot,  therefore,  without  unreality, 
except,  perhaps,  in  a  very  few  cases,  appropriate  his 
words,  '  I  have  fought  tlie  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith.'  But  that  other  text 
still  sounds  gently  in  our  ears  :  '  My  strength  is  per- 
fected in  weakness,'  and  '  when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I 
strong.'  We  cannot  apply  to  ourselves  the  language 
of  authority  in  which  the  Apostle  speaks  of  himself  as 
an  ambassador  for  Christ,  without  something  like  bad 
taste.  But  it  is  not  altogether  an  imaginary  hope 
that  those  of  us  who  are  ministers  of  Christ,  may 
attain  to  a  real  imitation  of  his  great  diligence,  of  his 
sympathy  with  others,  and  consideration  for  them — of 
his  willingness  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  his  Master's 
service. 

Such  are  a  few  instances  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  analogy  of  faith  enables  us  to  apply  the  words  of 
Christ  and  His  Apostles,  with  a  strict  regard  to  their 
original  meaning.  But  the  Old  Testament  has  also 
its  peculiar  lessons  which  are  not  conveyed  with 
equal  point  or  force  in  the  New.  The  beginnings  of 
human  history  are  themselves  a  lesson  having  a  fresh- 
ness as  of  the  early  dawn.  There  are  forms  of  evil 
against  which  the  Prophets  and  the  prophetical  spirit 
of  the  Law  carry  on  a  warfare,  in  terms  almost  too  bold 
for  the  way  of  life  of  modern  times.     There,  more 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  417 

plainly  than  in  any  other  portion  of  Scripture,  is  ex- 
pressed the  antagonism  of  outward  and  inward,  of 
ceremonial  and  moral,  of  mercy  and  sacrifice.  There 
all  the  masks  of  hypocrisy  are  rudely  torn  asunder,  in 
which  an  unthinking  world  allows  itself  to  be  dis- 
guised. There  the  relations  of  rich  and  poor  in  the 
sight  of  Grod,  and  their  duties  towards  one  anotlier,  are 
most  clearly  enunciated.  There  the  religion  of 
suffering  first  appears — '  adversity,  the  blessing'  of 
the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as  of  the  New.  There  the 
sorrows  and  aspirations  of  the  soul  find  their  deepest 
expression,  and  also  their  consolation.  The  feeble 
person  has  an  image  of  himself  in  the  '  bruised  reed ;' 
the  suffering  servant  of  God  passes  into  the  '  beloved 
one,  in  whom  my  soul  delighteth.'  Even  the  latest 
and  most  desolate  phases  of  the  human  mind  are  re- 
flected in  Job  and  Ecclesiastes ;  yet  not  without  the 
solemn  assertion  that  '  to  fear  God  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments' is  the  beginning  and  end  of  all  things. 

It  is  true  that  there  are  examples  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  were  not  written  for  our  instruction,  and 
that,  in  some  instances,,  precepts  or  commands  are  at- 
tributed to  God  Himself,  which  must  be  regarded  as 
relative  to  the  state  of  knowledge  which  then  existed 
of  the  Divine  nature,  or  given  '  for  the  hardness  of 
men's  hearts.'  It  cannot  be  denied  that  such  passages 
of  Scripture  are  liable  to  misunderstanding ;  the 
spirit  of  the  Old  Covenanters,  althougij^  no  longer 
appealing  to  the  action  of  Samuel,  '  hewing  Agag  in 
pieces  before  the  Lord  in  Gilgal,'  is  not  altogether 
extinguished.  And  a  community  of  recent  origin  in 
America  found  their  doctrine  of  polygainy  on  the 
Old  Testament.  But  the  poor  generally  read  the 
Bible  unconsciously ;  they  take  the  good,  and  catch 
the  prevailing  spirit,  without  stopping  to  reason 
whether  this  or  that  practice  is  sanctioned  by  the 
custom  or  example  of  Scripture.  The  child  is  only 
struck  by  the  impiety  of  the  children  who  mocked  the 

E  E 


418  On  the  Inteiyretation  of  Scripture. 

prophet ;  lie  does  not  think  of  the  severity  of  the 
punishment  which  is  inflicted  on  them.  And  the 
poor,  in  this  respect,  are  much  like  children ;  their 
reflection  on  the  morality  or  immorality  of  characters 
or  events  is  suppressed  by  reverence  for  Scripture. 
The  Christian  teacher  has  a  sort  of  tact  by  which  he 
guides  them  to  perceive  only  the  spirit  of  the  Grospel 
everywhere ;  they  read  in  the  Psalms,  of  David's  sin 
and  repentance  ;  of  the  never-failing  goodness  of  God 
to  him,  and  his  never-failing  trust  in  Him,  not  of  his 
imprecations  against  his  enemies.  Such  difficulties 
are  greater  in  theory  and  on  paper,  than  in  the 
management  of  a  school  or  parish.  They  are  found  to 
affect  the  half-educated,  rather  than  either  the  poor,  or 
those  who  are  educated  in  a  higher  sense.  To  be 
above  such  difficulties  is  the  happiest  condition  of 
human  life  and  knowledge,  or  to  be  below  them  ;  to  see, 
or  think  we  see,  how  they  may  be  reconciled  with 
Divine  power  and  wisdom,  or  not  to  see  how  they  are 
apparently  at  variance  with  them. 

^   ^-  . 

Some  application  of  the  preceding  subject  may  be 

further  made  to  theology  and  life. 

Let  us  introduce  this  concluding  inquiry  with  two 
remarks. 

First,  it  may  be  observed,  that  a  change  in  some  of 
the  prevailing  modes  of  interpretation  is  not  so  much 
a  matter  of  expediency  as  of  necessity.  The  original 
meaning  of  Scripture  is  beginning  to  be  clearly  un- 
derstood. But  the  apprehension  of  the  original 
meaning  is  inconsistent  with  the  reception  of  a  typical 
or  conventional  one.  The  time  will  come  when  edu- 
cated men  will  be  no  more  able  to  believe  that  the 
words,  "  Out  of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  son"  (Matth. 
ii.  15  ;  Hosea  xi.  i),  were  intended  by  the  prophet  to 
refer  to  the  return  of  Joseph  and  Mary  from  Egypt, 
than  they  are  now  able  to  believe  the  Roman  Catholic 
explanation  of   Gen.   iii.    15,    '  Ipsa    conteret    caput 


Oti  the  Interpretation  of  Scnpture.  419 

tuum.'  They  will  no  more  think  that  the  first  chap- 
ters of  Genesis  relate  the  same  tale  which  Geology 
and  Ethnology  unfold  than  they  now  think  the  mean- 
ing of  Joshua  X.  12,  13,  to  he  in  accordance  with 
Galileo's  discovery. 

From  the  circumstance  that  in  former  ages  there 
has  been  a  four-fold  or  a  seven-fold  Interpretation  of 
Scripture,  we  cannot  argue  to  the  possibility  of  up- 
holding any  other  than  the  original  one  in  our  own. 
The  mystical  explanations  of  Origen  or  Philo  were 
not  seen  to  be  mystical ;  the  reasonings  of  Aquinas 
and  Calvin  were  not  supposed  to  go  beyond  the  letter 
of  the  text.  They  have  now  become  the  subject  of 
apology  ;  it  is  justly  said  that  we  should  not  judge  the 
greatness  of  the  Fathers  or  Reformers  by  their  suit- 
ableness to  our  own  day.  But  this  defence  of  them 
shows  that  their  explanations  of  Scripture  are  no 
longer  tenable  ;  they  belong  to  a  way  of  thinking  and 
speaking  which  was  once  diffused  over  the  world,  but 
has  now  passed  away.  And  what  we  give  up  as  a 
general  principle  we  shall  find  it  impossible  to  main- 
tain partially,  e.  g.,  in  the  types  of  the  Mosaic  Law 
and  the  double  meanings  of  prophecy,  at  least,  in  any 
sense  in  which  it  is  not  equally  applicable  to  all  deep 
and  suggestive  writings. 

The  same  observation  may  be  applied  to  the  histori- 
cal criticism  of  Scripture.  From  the  fact  that  Pale}' 
or  Butler  were  regarded  in  their  generation  as  supply- 
ing a  triumphant  answer  to  the  enemies  of  Scripture, 
we  cannot  argue  that  their  answer  will  be  satisfactory 
to  those  who  inquire  into  such  subjects  in  our  own. 
Criticism  has  far  more  power  than  it  formerly  had ;  it 
has  spread  itself  over  ancient,  and  even  modern,  his- 
tory ;  it  extends  to  the  thoughts  and  ideas  of  men  as 
well  as  to  words  and  facts  ;  it  has  also  a  great  place  in 
education.  Whether  the  habit  of  mind  which  has 
been  formed  in  classical  studies  will  not  go  on  to 
Scripture ;  whether  Scripture  can  be  made  an  excep- 

E    E    2 


420  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

tion  to  other  ancient  writings,  now  that  the  nature  of 
both  is  more  understood ;  whether  in  the  fuller  light 
of  history  and  science  the  views  of  the  last  century 
will  hold  out — these  are  questions  respecting  which 
the  course  of  religious  opinion  in  the  past  does  not 
afford  the  means  of  truly  judging. 

Secondly,  it  has  to  be  considered  whether  the  intel- 
lectual forms  under  which  Christianity  has  been  de- 
scribed may  not  also  be  in  a  state  of  transition  and 
resolution,  in  this  respect  contrasting  with  the  never- 
changing  truth  of  the  Christian  life,  (i  Cor.  xiii.  8.) 
Looking  backwards  at  past  ages,  we  experience  a  kind 
of  amazement  at  the  minuteness  of  theological  distinc- 
tions, and  also  at  their  permanence.  They  seem  to 
have  borne  a  part  in  the  education  of  the  Christian 
world,  in  an  age  when  language  itself  had  also  a 
greater  influence  than  now-a-days.  It  is  admitted 
that  these  distinctions  are  not  observed  in  the  New 
Testament,  and  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  later  growth. 
But  little  is  gained  by  setting  up  theology  against 
Scripture,  or  Scripture  against  theology ;  the  Bible 
against  the  Church,  or  the  Church  against  the  Bible. 
At  different  periods  either  has  been  a  bulwark  against 
some  form  of  error :  either  has  tended  to  correct  the 
abuse  of  the  other.  A  true  inspiration  guarded  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament  from  Gnostic  or  Mani- 
chean  tenets ;  at  a  later  stage,  a  sound  instinct  pre- 
vented the  Church  from  dividing  the  humanity  and 
Divinity  of  Christ.  It  may  be  said  that  the  spirit 
of  Christ  forbids  us  to  determine  beyond  what  is 
written;  and  the  decision  of  the  council  of 
Nicsea  has  been  described  by  an  eminent  EngHsh  pre- 
late as  'the  greatest  misfortune  that  ever  befel  the 
Christian  world.'  That  is,  perhaps,  true;  yet  a  dif- 
ferent decision  would  have  been  a  greater  misfortlme. 
Nor  does  there  seem  any  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
human  mind  could  have  been  arrested  in  its  theolo- 
gical course.     It  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that  the 


On  the  Infrrjjretation  of  Scrij)ture.  421 

dividing  and  splitting  of  words  is  owing  to  the  de- 
pravity of  the  human  heart ;  was  it  not  rather  an  in- 
tellectual movement  (the  oul}'"  phenomenon  of  progress 
then  going  on  among  men)  which  led,  by  a  sort  of 
necessity,  some  to  go  forward  to  the  completion  of  the 
system,  while  it  left  others  to  stand  aside  ?  A  veil 
was  on  the  human  understandins:  in  the  o-reat  contro- 
versies  which  absorbed  the  Church  in  earlier  ages ; 
the  cloud  which  the  combatants  themselves  raised 
intercepted  the  view.  They  did  not  see — they  could 
not  have  imagined — that  there  was  a  world  which  lay 
beyond  the  range  of  the  controversy. 

And  noAv,  as  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture  is  re- 
ceiving another  character,  it  seems  that  distinctions  of 
theology,  which  were  in  great  measure  based  on  old 
Interpretations,  are  beginning  to  fade  away.  A  change 
is  observable  in  the  manner  in  which  doctrines  are 
stated  and  defended ;  it  is  no  longer  held  sufficient  to 
rest  them  on  texts  of  Scripture,  one,  two,  or  more, 
which  contain,  or  appear  to  contain,  similar  words  or 
ideas.  They  are  connected  more  closely  with  our 
moral  nature ;  extreme  consequences  are  shunned ; 
large  allowances  are  made  for  the  ignorance  of  man- 
kind. It  is  held  that  there  is  truth  on  both  sides ; 
about  many  cjuestions  there  is  a  kind  of  union  of  op- 
posites  ;  others  are  admitted  to  have  been  verbal  only  ; 
all  are  regarded  in  the  light  which  is  thrown  upon  them 
by  church  history  and  religious  experience.  A  theory 
has  lately  been  put  forward,  apparently  as  a  defence 
of  the  Christian  faith,  which  cleuies  the  objective  cha- 
racter of  any  of  them.  And  there  are  other  signs 
that  times  are  changing,  and  we  are  changing  too. 
It  would  be  scarcely  possible  at  present  to  revive  the 
interest  which  was  felt  less  than  twenty  years  ago  in 
the  doctrine  of  Baptismal  Eegeneration ;  nor  would 
the  arguments  by  which  it  was  supported  or  impugned 
have  the  meaning  which  they  once  had.  The  com- 
munion of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  also  ceasing,  at  least 


422  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

in  the  Church  of  England,  to  be  a  focus  or  centre  of 
disunion — 

'  Our  greatest  love  turned  to  our  greatest  hate.' 

A  silence  is  observable  on  some  other  points  of  doc- 
trine around  which  controversies  swarmed  a  g-eneration 
ago.  Persons  begin  to  ask  what  was  the  real  differ- 
ence which  divided  the  two  parties.  They  are  no 
longer  within  the  magic  circle,  but  are  taking  up  a 
position  external  to  it.  They  have  arrived  at  an  age 
of  reflection,  and  begin  to  speculate  on  the  action  and 
reaction,  the  irritation  and  counter-irritation,  of  reli- 
gious forces ;  it  is  a  common  observation  that  '  revi- 
vals are  not  permanent ;'  the  movement  is  criticised 
even  by  those  who  are  subject  to  its  influence.  In 
the  present  state  of  the  human  mind,  any  considera- 
tion of  these  subjects,  wdiether  from  the  highest  or 
lowest  or  most  moderate  point  of  view,  is  unfavourable 
to  the  stability  of  dogmatical  systems,  because  it  rouses 
inquiry  into  the  meaning  of  words.  To  the  sense  of 
this  is  probably  to  be  attributed  the  reserve  on  mat- 
ters of  doctrine  and  controversy  which  characterizes 
the  present  day,  compared  with  the  theological  activity 
of  twenty  years  ago. 

\  These  reflections  bring  us  back  to  the  question  with 
which  we  began — '  What  effect  will  the  critical  inter- 
pretation of  Scri23ture  have  on  theology  and  on  life  ?' 
Their  tendency  is  to  show  that  the  result  is  beyond 
our  control,  and  that  the  world  is  not  unprepared  for 
it.  More  things  than  at  first  sight  appear  are  moving 
towards  the  same  end.  Eeligion  often  bids  us  think 
of  ourselves,  especially  in  later  life,  as,  each  one  in  his 
appointed  place,  carrying  on  a  work  which  is  fashioned 
within  by  unseen  hands.  The  theologian,  too,  may 
have  peace  in  the  thought,  that  he  is  subject  to  the 
conditions  of  his  age  rather  than  one  of  its  moving 
powers.  When  he  hears  theological  inquiry  censured 
as  tending  to  create  doubt  and  confusion,  he  knows 
very  well  that  the  cause  of  this  is  not  to  be  sought  in 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  423 

the  writings  of  so-called  rationalists  or  critics  who  are 
disliked  partly  because  they  unveil  the  age  to  itself; 
but  in  the  opposition  of  reason  and  feeling,  of  the  past 
and  the  present,  in  the  conflict  between  the  Calvinistic 
tendencies  of  an  elder  generation,  and  the  influences 
which  even  in  the  same  family  naturally  affect  the 
young. 

This  distraction  of  the  human  mind  between  adverse 
influences  and  associations,  is  a  fact  which  we  should 
have  to  accept  and  make  the  best  of,  whatever  con- 
sequences might  seem  to  follow  to  individuals  or 
Churches.  It  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  merely 
heathen  notion  that  /  truth  is  to  be  desired  for  its  own 
sake  even  though  no  '  good'  result  from  it.'  As  a 
Christian  paradox  it  may  be  said,  '  AVhat  hast  thou 
to  do  with  'good;'  follow  thou  Me.'  But  the  Christian 
revelation  does  not  require  of  us  this  Stoicism  in  most 
cases;  it  rather  shows  how  good  and  truth  are  gene- 
rally coincident.  Even  in  this  life,  there  are  number- 
less links  which  unite  moral  good  with  intellectual 
truth.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the  one  is 
but  a  narrower  form  of  the  other.  Truth  is  to  the 
Avorld  what  holiness  of  life  is  to  the  individual — to 
man  collectively  the  source  of  justice  and  peace  and 
good. 

There  are  many  ways  in  which  the  connexion  be- 
tween truth  and  good  may  be  traced  in  the  interpre- 
tation of  Scripture.  Is  it  a  mere  chimera  that  the 
different  sections  of  Christendom  may  meet  on  the 
common  ground  of  the  New  Testament?  Or  that 
the  individual  may  be  urged  by  the  vacancy  and  un- 
profitableness of  old  traditions  to  make  the  Gospel  his 
own — a  life  of  Christ  in  the  soul,  instead  of  a  theory 
of  Christ  which  is  in  a  book  or  written  down  ?  Or 
that  in  missions  to  the  heathen  Scripture  may  become 
the  expression  of  universal  truths  rather  than  of  the 
tenets  of  particular  men  or  churches  ?  That  would 
remove  many  obstacles  to  the  reception  of  Christianity. 


424  On  the  Tnierpretation  of  Scripture. 

Or  that  the  study  of  Scripture  may  have  a  more  im- 
portant place  in  a  liberal  education  than  hitherto? 
Or  that  the  '  rational  service'  of  interpreting  Scripture 
may  dry  up  the  crude  and  dreamy  vapours  of  religious 
excitement  ?  Or,  that  in  preaching,  new  sources  of 
spiritual  health  may  flow  from  a  more  natural  use  of 
Scripture  ?  Or  that  the  lessons  of  Scripture  may  have 
a  nearer  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  poor  when  dis- 
engaged from  theological  formulas  ?  Let  us  consider 
more  at  length  some  of  these  topics. 

I.  No  one  casting  his  eye  over  the  map  of  the 
Christian  world  can  desire  that  the  present  lines  of 
demarcation  should  always  remain,  any  more  than  he 
will  be  inclined  to  regard  the  division  of  Christians  to 
which  he  belongs  himself,  as  in  a  pre-eminent  or  ex- 
elusive  sense  the  Church  of  Christ,  Those  lines  of 
demarcation  seem  to  be  political  rather  than  religious  ; 
they  are  differences  of  nations,  or  governments,  or 
ranks  of  society,  more  than  of  creeds  or  forms  of  faith. 
The  feeling  which  gave  rise  to  them  has,  in  a  great 
measure,  passed  away ;  no  intelligent  man  seriously 
inclines  to  believe  that  salvation  is  to  be  found  only 
in  his  own  denomination.  Examples  of  this  *  sturd}^ 
orthodoxy,'  in  our  own  generation,  rather  provoke  a 
smile  than  arouse  serious  disapproval.  Yet  many 
experiments  show  that  these  differences  cannot  be 
made  up  by  any  formal  concordat  or  scheme  of  union; 
the  parties  cannot  be  brought  to  terms,  and  if  they 
could,  would  cease  to  take  an  interest  in  the  question 
at  issue.  The  friction  is  too  great  when  persons  are 
invited  to  meet  for  a  discussion  of  differences  ;  such  a 
process  is  like  opening  the  doors  and  windows  to  put 
out  a  slumbering  flame.  But  that  is  no  reason  for 
doubting  that  the  divisions  of  the  Christian  world  are 
beginning  to  pass  away.  The  progress  of  politics, 
acquaintance  with  other  countries,  the  growth  of 
knowledge  and  of  material  greatness,  changes  of 
opinion  in  the  Church  of  England,  the  present  position 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  425 

of  the  Roman  Communion — all  these  phenomena  show 
that  the  ecclesiastical  state  of  the  world  is  not  destined 
to  be  perpetual.  Within  the  envious  barriers  which 
'  divide  human  nature  into  very  little  pieces'  (Plato, 
Bep.  iii.  395),  a  common  sentiment  is  springing  up 
of  religious  truth ;  the  essentials  of  Christianity  are 
contrasted  with  the  details  and  definitions  of  it ;  good 
men  of  all  religions  find  that  they  are  more  nearly 
agreed  than  heretofore.  Neither  is  it  impossible  that 
this  common  feeling  may  so  prevail  over  tlie  acci- 
dental circumstances  of  Christian  communities,  tliat 
their  political  or  ecclesiastical  separation  may  be  little 
felt.  The  walls  which  no  adversary  has  scaled  may 
fall  down  of  themselves.  We  may  perhaps  figure 
to  ourselves  the  battle  against  error  and  moral  evil 
taking  the  place  of  one  of  sects  and  parties. 

In  this  movement,  which  we  should  see  more  cleai-ly 
but  for  tlie  divisions  of  the  Christian  world  which 
]3artly  conceal  it,  the  critical  interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture will  have  a  great  influence.  The  Bible  will  be 
no  longer  appealed  to  as  the  witness  of  the  opinions  of 
particular  sects,  or  of  our  own  age;  it  will  cease  to  be  the 
battle-field  of  controversies.  But  as  its  true  meaning 
is  more  clearly  seen,  its  moral  power  will  also  be 
greater.  If  the  outward  and  inward  witness,  instead 
of  parting  into  two,  as  they  once  did,  seem  rather  to 
blend  and  coincide  in  the  Christian  consciousness,  that 
is  not  a  source  of  weakness  but  of  strength.  The 
Book  itself,  which  links  together  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  human  race,  will  not  have  a  less  ines- 
timable value  because  the  Spirit  has  taken  the  place  of 
the  letter.  Its  discrepancies  of  fiict,  when  we  become 
familiar  with  them,  will  seem  of  little  consequence  in 
comparison  with  the  truths  which  it  unfolds.  That 
these  truths,  instead  of  floating  down  the  stream  of 
tradition,  or  being  lost  in  ritual  observances,  have 
been  preserved  for  ever  in  a  book,  is  one  of  the  many 
blessings  which  the  Jewish  and  Christian  revelations 


426  On  iJte  Inieiyretation  of  Scripture. 

have  conferred  on  the  world — a  blessing  not  the  less 
real,  because  it  is  not  necessary  to  attribute  it  to 
miraculous  causes. 

Again,  tlie  Scriptures  are  a  bond  of  union  to  the 
whole  Christian  world.  No  one  denies  their  authority, 
and  could  all  be  brought  to  an  intelligence  of  their 
true  meaning,  all  might  come  to  agree  in  matters  of 
religion.  That  may  seem  to  be  a  hope  deferred,  yet 
not  altogether  chimerical.  If  it  is  not  held  to  be  a 
thing  impossible,  that  there  should  be  agreement  in 
the  meaning  of  Plato  or  Sophocles,  neither  is  it  to  be 
regarded  as  absurd,  that  there  should  be  a  like  agree- 
ment in  the  interpretation  of  Scripture.  The  disap- 
pearance of  artificial  notions  and  systems  will  pave 
the  way  to  such  an  agreement.  The  recognition  of 
the  fact,  that  many  aspects  and  stages  of  religion  are 
found  in  Scripture  ;  that  different,  or  even  opposite 
parties  existed  in  the  Apostolic  Church  ;  that  the  first 
teachers  of  Christianity  had  a  separate  and  individual 
mode  of  regarding  the  Gospel  of  Christ ;  that  any 
existing  communion  is  necessarily  much  more  unlike 
the  brotherliood  of  love  in  the  New  Testament  than 
we  are  willing  to  suppose  —  Protestants  in  some 
respects,  as  much  so  as  Catholics — that  rival  sects  in 
our  own  day — Calvinists  and  Arminians — tliose  who 
maintain  and  those  who  deny  the  final  restoration  of 
man — may  equally  find  texts  which  seem  to  favour 
their  respective  tenets  (Mark  ix.  44 — 48  ;  Eomans 
xi.  32) — the  recognition  of  these  and  similar  facts  will 
make  us  unwilling  to  impose  any  narrow  rule  of  reli- 
gious opinion  on  the  ever-varying  conditions  of  the 
human  mind  and  Christian  society. 

II.  Christian  missions  suggest  another  sphere  in  which 
a  more  enlightened  use  of  Scripture  might  offer  a  great 
advantage  to  the  teacher.  The  more  he  is  himself  pene- 
trated with  the  universal  spirit  of  Scripture,  the  more 
he  v/ill  be  able  to  resist  the  literal  and  servile  habits 
of  mind   of  Oriental  nations.     You   cannot   transfer 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  427 

Eng'lisli  ways  of  belief,  and  almost  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  England  itself,  as  the  attempt  is  sometimes 
made — not  to  an  uncivilized  people,  ready  like  chil- 
dren to  receive  new  impressions,  but  to  an  ancient 
and  decaying  one,  furrowed  with  the  lines  of  thought, 
incapable  of  the  principle  of  growth.  But  you  may 
take  the  purer  light  or  element  of  religion,  of  which 
Christianity  is  the  expression,  and  make  it  shine  on 
some  principle  in  human  nature  which  is  the  fallen 
image  of  it.  You  cannot  give  a  people  who  have 
no  history  of  their  own,  a  sense  of  the  importance 
of  Christianity,  as  an  historical  fact ;  but,  perhaps,  that 
very  peculiarity  of  their  character  may  make  them 
more  impressible  by  the  truths  or  ideas  of  Chris- 
tianity. Neither  is  it  easy  to  make  them  under- 
stand the  growth  of  Eevelation  in  successive  ages — 
that  there  are  precepts  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
are  reversed  in  the  New — or  that  Moses  allowed  many 
things  for  the  hardness  of  men's  hearts.  Tliey  are 
in  one  state  of  the  world,  and  the  missionary  who 
teaches  them  is  in  another,  and  the  Book  tlirough 
which  they  are  taught  does  not  altogether  coincide 
with  either.  Many  difficulties  thus  arise  which  we 
are  most  likely  to  be  successful  in  meeting  when  we 
look  them  in  the  face.  To  one  inference  they  clearly 
point,  which  is  this  :  that  it  is  not  the  Book  of  Scrip- 
ture which  we  should  seek  to  give  them,  to  be  reve- 
renced like  the  Vedas  or  the  Koran,  and  consecrated  in 
its  words  and  letters,  but  the  truth  of  the  Book, 
tlie  mind  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles,  in  which  all 
lesser  details  and  differences  should  be  lost  and 
absorbed.  We  want  to  awaken  in  them  the  sense 
that  God  is  their  Father,  and  they  His  children  ; — 
that  is  of  more  importance  than  any  theory  about  the 
inspiraticn  of  Scripture.  But  to  teach  in  this  spirit, 
the  missionary  should  himself  be  able  to  separate  the 
accidents  from  the  essence  of  religion  ;  he  should  be 
conscious  that  the  power  of  the  Gospel  resides  not 


4.28  On  the  InteiyretaHon  of  Scripture. 

in  the  particulars  of  theology,  but  in  the  Christicin 
life. 

III.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  Scripture  has  ever 
been  sufficiently  regarded  as  an  element  of  liberal  edu- 
cation. Few  deem  it  worth  while  to  spend  in  the  study 
of  it  the  same  honest  thought  or  pains  which  are 
bestowed  on  a  classical  author.  Nor  as  at  present 
studied,  can  it  be  said  always  to  have  an  elevating 
effect.  It  is  not  a  useful  lesson  for  the  young  student 
to  apply  to  Scripture,  principles  which  he  would  hesi- 
tate to  apply  to  other  books ;  to  make  formal  recon- 
cilements of  discrepancies  which  he  would  not  think 
of  reconciling  in  ordinary  history  ;  to  divide  simple 
words  into  double  meanings ;  to  adopt  the  fancies  or 
conjectures  of  Fathers  and  Commentators  as  real 
knowledge.  This  laxity  of  knowledge  is  apt  to  infect 
the  judgment  when  transferred  to  other  subjects.  It 
is  not  easy  to  say  how  much  of  the  unsettlement  of 
mind  which  prevails  among  intellectual  young  men  is 
I  attributable  to  these  causes  ;  the  mixture  of  truth  and 
I  falsehood  in  religious  education,  certainly  tends  to 
\  impair,  at  the  age  wlien  it  is  most  needed,  the  early 
,  influence  of  a  religious  home. 

Yet  Scripture  studied  in  a  more  liberal  spirit  might 
supply  a  part  of  education  which  classical  literature 
fails  to  provide.  '  The  best  book  for  the  heart  might 
also-  be  made  the  best  book  for  the  intellect.'  The 
noblest  study  of  history  and  antiquity  is  contained  in 
it ;  a  poetr}^  which  is  also  the  highest  form  of  moral 
teaching ;  there,  too,  are  lives  of  heroes  and  prophets, 
and  especially  of  One  whom  we  do  not  name  with 
them,  because  He  is  above  them.  This  history,  or 
poetry,  or  biography,  is  distinguished  from  all  classical 
or  secular  writings  by  the  contemplation  of  man  as  he 
appears  in  the  sight  of  God.  That  is  a  sense  of 
things  into  which  we  must  grow  as  well  as  reason 
ourselves,  without  which  human  nature  is  but  a  trun- 
cated, half-educated  sort  of  being.     But  this  sense  or 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  429 

consciousness  of  a  Divine  presence  in  tlie  world,  which 
seems  to  be  natural  to  the  beginnings  of  the  human 
race,  but  fades  away  and  requires  to  be  renewed  in  its 
after  history,  is  not  to  be  gathered  from  Greek  or 
Eoman  hterature,but  from  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
And  before  we  can  make  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
a  real  part  of  education,  we  must  read  them  not  by 
the  help  of  custom  or  tradition,  in  the  spirit  of  apology 
or  controversy,  but  in  accordance  with  the  ordinary 
laws  of  human  knowledge. 

IV.  Another  use  of  Scripture  is  that  in  sermons, 
which  seems  to  be  among  the  tritest,  and  yet  is  far 
from  being  exhausted.  If  we  could  only  be  natural  and 
speak  of  things  as  they  truly  are  with  a  real  interest 
and  not  merely  a  conventional  one  !  The  words  of 
Scripture  come  readily  to  hand,  and  the  repetition  of 
them  requires  no  effort  of  thought  in  the  writer  or 
speaker.  But,  neither  does  it  produce  any  effect  on 
the  hearer,  which  will  always  be  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  of  feeling  or  consciousness  in  ourselves.  It 
may  be  said  that  originality  is  the  gift  of  few ;  no 
Church  can  expect  to  have,  not  a  hundred,  but  ten  such 
preachers  as  Eobertson  or  Newman.  But,  without 
originality,  it  seems  possible  to  make  use  of  Scripture 
in  sermons  in  a  much  more  living  way  than  at  present. 
Let  the  preacher  make  it  a  sort  of  religion,  and  proof 
of  his  reverence  for  Scripture,  that  he  never  uses  its 
words  without  a  distinct  meaning  ;  let  him  avoid  the 
form  of  argument  from  Scripture,  and  catch  the  feeling 
and  spirit.  Scripture  is  itself  a  kind  of  poetry,  when  not 
overlaid  with  rhetoric.  The  scene  and  country  has  a 
freshness  which  may  always  be  renewed  ;  there  is  the 
interest  of  antiquity  and  the  interest  of  home  or  com- 
mon life  as  well.  The  facts  and  characters  of  Scripture 
might  receive  a  new  reading  by  being  described  simply 
as  they  are.  The  truths  of  Scripture  again  would 
have  greater  reality  if  divested  of  the  scholastic  form 
in  which  theology  has  cast  them.     The  universal  and 


430  On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

spiritual  aspects  of  Scripture  might  be  more  brought 
forward  to  the  exckision  of  questions  of  the  Jewish 
law,  or  controversies  about  the  sacraments,  or  exagge- 
rated statements  of  doctrines  which  seem  to  be  at 
variance  witli  morality.  The  life  of  Christ,  regarded 
quite  naturally  as  of  one  '  who  was  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin,'  is  also  the  life 
and  centre  of  Christian  teaching.  There  is  no  higher 
aim  which  the  preacher  can  propose  to  himself  than  to 
awaken  what  may  be  termed  the  feeling  of  the  pre- 
sence of  God  and  the  mind  of  Christ  in  Scripture  ; 
not  to  collect  evidences  about  dates  and  books,  or  to 
familiarize  metaphysical  distinctions  ;  but  to  make  the 
heart  and  conscience  of  his  hearers  bear  him  witness 
that  the  lessons  which  are  contained  in  Scripture — ■ 
lessons  of  justice  and  truth — lessons  of  mercy  and 
peace^ — of  the  need  of  man  and  the  goodness  of  God 
to  him,  are  indeed  not  human  but  divine. 

V.  It  is  time  to  make  an  end  of  this  long  disquisition 
— let  the  end  be  a  few  more  words  of  application  to  the 
circumstances  of  a  particular  class  in  the  present  age. 
If  any  one  who  is  about  to  become  a  clergyman  feels, 
or  thinks  that  he  feels,  that  some  of  the  preceding  state- 
ments cast  a  shade  of  trouble  or  suspicion  on  his  future 
walk  of  life,  who,  either  from  the  influence  of  a  stronger 
mind  than  his  own,  or  from  some  natural  tendency  in 
himself,  has  been  led  to  examine  those  great  questions 
which  lie  on  the  threshold  of  the  higher  study  of 
theology,  and  experiences  a  sort  of  shrinking  or  dizzi- 
ness at  the  prospect  which  is  opening  upon  him ;  let 
him  lay  to  heart  the  following  considerations  : — First, 
that  he  may  possibly  not  be  the  person  who  is  called 
upon  to  pursue  such  inquiries.  No  man  should  busy 
himself  with  them  who  has  not  clearness  of  mind 
enough  to  see  things  as  they  are,  and  a  faith  strong 
enough  forest  in  that  degree  of  knowledge  which  God 
has  really  given  ;  or  who  is  unable  to  separate  the  truth 
from  his  own  religious  wants  and  experiences.  For 
the  theologian  as  well  as  the  philosopher  has  need  of 


On  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  431 

*  dry  liglit,'  '  iinmingled  with  any  tincture  of  tlie 
affections,'  the  more  so  as  his  conclusions  are  oftener 
liable  to  be  disordered  by  them.  He  who  is  of 
another  temperament  may  find  another  work  to  do, 
which  is  in  some  respects  a  higher  one.  Unlike 
philosophy,  the  Gospel  has  an  ideal  life  to  offer,  not  to 
a  few  only,  but  to  all.  There  is  one  word  of  caution, 
however,  to  be  given  to  those  who  renounce  inquiry ; 
it  is,  that  they  cannot  retain  the  right  to  condemn 
inquirers.  Their  duty  is  to  say  with  Nicodemus, 
'  Doth  the  Gospel  condemn  any  man  before  it  hear 
him  ?'  although  the  answer  may  be  only  '  Art  thou 
also  of  Galilee?'  They  have  chosen  the  path  of 
practical  usefulness,  and  they  should  acknowledge 
that  it  is  a  narrow  path.  For  any  but  a  '  strong 
swimmer'  will  be  insensibly  drawn  out  of  it  by  the 
tide  of  pubhc  opinion  or  the  current  of  party. 

Secondly,  let  him  consider  that  the  difficulty  is  not 
so  great  as  imagination  sometimes  paints  it.  It  is  a 
difficulty  which  arises  chiefly  out  of  differences  of 
education  in  different  classes  of  society.  It  is  a 
difficulty  which  tact,  and  prudence,  and,  much  more, 
the  power  of  a  Christian  life  may  hope  to  surmount. 
Much  depends  on  the  manner  in  which  things  are 
said ;  on  the  evidence  in  the  writer  or  preacher  of  a 
real  good  will  to  his  opponents,  and  a  desire  for  the 
moral  improvement  of  men.  There  is  an  aspect  of 
truth  which  may  ahvays  be  put  forward  so  as  to  find 
a  way  to  the  hearts  of  men.  If  there  is  danger  and 
shrinking  from  one  point  of  view,  from  another  there 
is  freedom  and  sense  of  relief.  The  wider  contem- 
plation of  the  religious  world  may  enable  us  to 
adjust  our  own  place  in  it.  The  acknowledgment  of 
churches  as  political  and  national  institutions  is  the 
basis  of  a  sound  government  of  them.  Criticism  itself  is 
not  only  negative  ;  if  it  creates  some  difficulties,  it  does 
away  others.  It  may  put  us  at  variance  with  a  party  or 
section  of  Christians  in  our  own  neighbourhood.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  it  enables  us  to  look  at  all  men  as 


432  On  tlie  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

the  J  are  in  the  sight  of  God,  not  as  they  appear  to 
human  eye,  separated  and  often  interdicted  from  each 
other  by  lines  of  rehgious  demarcation ;  it  divides  us 
from  the  parts  to  unite  us  to  the  whole.  That  is  a  great 
help  to  religious  communion.  It  does  away  with  the 
supposed  opposition  of  reason  and  faith.  It  throws  us 
back  on  the  conviction  that  religion  is  a  personal  thing, 
in  which  certainty  is  to  be  slowly  won  and  not  assumed 
as  the  result  of  evidence  or  testimony.  It  places  us,  in 
some  respects  (though  it  be  deemed  a  paradox  to  say 
so),  more  nearly  in  the  position  of  the  first  Christians 
to  whom  the  New  Testament  was  not  yet  given,  in 
whom  tlie  Grospel  was  a  living  word,  not  yet  embodied 
in  forms  or  supported  by  ancient  institutious. 

Thirdly,  the  suspicion  or  difficulty  which  attends 
critical  inquiries  is  no  reason  for  doubting  their  value. 
The  Scripture  nowhere  leads  us  to  suppose  that  the 
circumstance  of  all  men  speaking  well  of  us  is  any 
ground  for  supposing  that  we  are  acceptable  in  the 
sight  of  God.  And  there  is  no  reason  why  the  con- 
demnation of  others  should  be  witnessed  to  by  our 
own  conscience.  Perhaps  it  may  be  true  that,  owing 
to  the  jealousy  or  fear  of  some,  the  reticence  of  others, 
the  terrorism  of  a  few,  w^e  may  not  always  find 
it  easy  to  regard  these  subjects  with  calmness  and 
judgment.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  these  accidental 
circumstances  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  question 
at  issue ;  they  cannot  have  the  slightest  influence  on 
the  meaning  of  words,  or  on  the  truth  of  facts.  No 
one  can  carry  out  the  principle  that  public  opinion  or 
church  authority  is  the  guide  to  tiuth,  when  he  goes 
beyond  the  limits  of  liis  own  church  or  country.  That 
is  a  consideration  which  may  well  make  him  pause 
before  he  accepts  of  such  a  guide  in  the  journey  to 
another  world.  All  the  arguments  for  repressing  in- 
quiries into  Scripture  in  Protestant  countries  hold 
equally  in  Italy  and  Spain  for  repressing  inquiries 
into  matters  of  lact  or  doctrine,  and  so  for  denying 
the  Scriptures  to  the  common  people. 


Oti  ilie  Interpretation  of  Scripture.  433 

Lastly,  let  him  be  assured  that  there  is  some  nobler 
idea  of  truth  than  is  supplied  by  the  opinion  of  man- 
kind in  general,  or  the  voice  of  parties  in  a  church. 
Ever}'  one,  whether  a  student  of  theology  or  not,  has 
need  to  make  war  against  his  prejudices  no  less  than 
against  his  passions  ;  and,  in  the  religious  teacher,  the 
first  is  even  more  necessary  than  the  last.  For,  while 
the  vices  of  mankind  are  in  a  great  degree  isolated, 
and  are,  at  any  rate,  reprobated  by  pul)lic  opinion, 
tlieir  prejudices  have  a  sort  of  communion  or  kindred 
with  the  world  without.  They  are  a  collective  evil, 
and  have  their  being  in  the  interest,  classes,  states  of 
society,  and  other  influences  amid  which  we  live.  He 
who  takes  the  prevciiling  opinions  of  Christians  and 
decks  them  out  in  their  gayest  colours — who  reflects 
the  better  mind  of  the  world  to  itself — is  likely  to  be 
its  favourite  teacher.  In  that  ministry  of  the  Gospel, 
even  when  assuming  forms  repulsive  to  j)ersons  of 
education,  no  doubt  the  good  is  far  greater  than  the 
error  or  harm.  But  there  is  also  a  deeper  work 
which  is  not  dependent  on  the  opinions  of  men 
in  which  many  elements  combine,  some  alien  to 
religion,  or  accidentally  at  variance  with  it.  That 
work  can  hardly  expect  to  win  much  popular 
favour,  so  far  as  it  runs  counter  to  the  feelings  of  re- 
ligious parties.  But  he  who  bears  a  part  in  it  may 
feel  a  confidence,  which  no  popular  caresses  or  religious 
sympathy  could  inspire,  that  he  has  by  a  Divine  help 
been  enabled  to  plant  his  foot  somewhere  beyond  the 
waves  of  time.  He  may  depart  hence  before  the 
natural  term,  worn  out  with  intellectual  toil ;  regarded 
with  suspicion  by  many  of  his  contemporaries  ;  yet 
not  without  a  sure  hope  that  the  love  of  truth,  which 
men  of  saintly  lives  often  seem  to  slight,  is,  neverthe- 
less, accepted  before  God. 


r  F 


NOTE  ON  BUNSEN'S  BIBLICAL  RESEAECHES. 


Since  the  Essay  on  Bunsen's  Biblical  Researches  was  in  type,  two 
more  parts  of  the  '  Bible  for  the  People  have  reached  England. 
One  includes  a  translation  of  Isaiah,  but  does  not  separate  the 
distinguishable  portions  in  the  manner  of  Ewald,  or  with  the  free- 
dom which  the  translator's  criticisms  would  justify.  The  other 
part  comprehends  numerous  dissertations  on  the  Pentateuch,  en- 
tering largely  on  questions  of  its  origin,  materials,  and  interpreta- 
tion. There  seems  not  an  entire  consistency  of  detail  in  these 
dissertations,  and  in  the  views  deducible  from  the  author's  Egypt, 
but  the  same  spirit  and  breadth  of  treatment  pervade  botli.  The 
analysis  of  the  Levitical  laws,  by  which  the  Mosaic  germs  are  dis- 
tinguished from  subsequent  accretions,  is  of  the  highest  interest. 
The  Ten  Plagues  of  Egypt  are  somewhat  rationalistically  handled, 
as  having  a  true  historical  basis,  but  as  explicable  by  natural 
phenomena  indigenous  to  Egypt  in  all  ages.  The  author's  tone, 
Tipon  the  technical  definition  of  miracles,  as  distinct  from  great 
marvels  and  wonders,  has  acqiiired  a  firmer  freedom,  and  would 
be  represented  by  some  among  ourselves  as  '  painfully  scepticaL' 
But  even  those  who  hesitate  to  follow  the  author  in  his  details 
must  be  struck  by  the  brilliant  suggestiveness  of  his  researches, 
which  tend  more  and  moi'e,  in  proportion  as  they  are  developed,  to 
justify  the  presentiment  of  their  creating  a  new  epoch  in  the 
science  of  Biblical  criticism. 

R.  W. 


THE     END. 


LIST  OF  WORKS  BY  LORD  MACAULAY. 


T  ORD 

from  the  Accession  of  Jame; 


MACAULAY'S    HISTORY    of    ENGLAND 

II.  ,  .  .  Vols.  I.  and  II.  8vo.  3'2s.;  Vols.  III.  and  IV.  8vo.  3Cs. 
VoLL'.ME  the  Fifth,  completing  the  History  to  the  Death  of  William  III.,  with  a  copious 
Index  to  the  entire  work,  is  in  the  Press. 


THE  HrSTORY  of  ENGLAND  from  the  Accession  of 

James  the  Second.     I3y  the  Right  Hon.  Lord  Macaulay.     New  Edition,  revised  and 

corrected  7  vols,  post  Svo.  price  42s.  cloth  ;  or  separately,  Gs.  each. 

Ill 

CRITICAL  and  HISTORICAL   ESSAYS  contributed 

to  the  Edinburgh  Review.    By  the  Right  Hon.  Lord  Macaulay 3  vols.  Svo.  36s. 


Milton 

Machiavelli 

Hallam's  Constitutional 

History 
Southey's  Colloquies 
R.  Muntgomcry's  Poems 
Bunyan'3  Pilgrim's  Progress 
Civil    Disabilities    of  the 

Jews 


Moore's  Life  of  Byron  [son 
Croker's  Boswell's  John 
NuKcnt's      Memorial     of 

Hampden 
Burleigh  and  his  Times 
■\Var    of    the    Succession 

in  Spain 
Horace  Walpole 
"William  Pitt 


Mackintosh's         History  Comic  Dramatists  of  the 

of  the  Uevolution  I      Restoration 

Lord  Kiicon  I  Lord  Holland 

Sir  "William  Temple  1  Warren  Hastings 

Gladstone  on  Church  and    Frederick  the  Great 

State  j  Madame  D'Arblay 

Lord  Clire  j  Life     and     "Writings    of 

Kanke's    History   of  the  :     Addison 
Popes  I  The  Earl  of  Chatham 


IV 


TORD     MACAULAY'S     CRITICAL     and     HISTO- 

RICAL  ESSAYS  contributed  to  the  Edinburgh  Jlcvicw.    Traveller's  Edition,  complete  in 
One  Volume,  with  Portrait  and  Vignette. . .  .  Square  crown  Svo.  2  is.  cloth ;  calf,  by  H ayday,  30s. 

T  ORD     MACAULAY'S    ^CRITICAL     and     HISTO- 

RICAL  ESSAYS  contributed  to  the  Edinburgh  Review.     An  Edition  in  Volumes  for  the 
Pocket    3  vols.  fcp.  Svo.  21s. 

r  ORD     MACAULAY'S   ^CRITICAL     and    HISTO- 

-^     RICAL  ESSAYS  contributed  to  the  Edinburgh  Review.     People's  Edition,  complete  in 
2  vols,  crown  Svo.  price  8s.  cloth ;  or  in  7  Parts,  price  One  Shilling  each. 


TJST  of  Fourteen  of  Lord  MACAULAY'S   ESSAYS 

which  may  be  had  separately,  in  16mo.  in  the  Traveller's  Library: — 


"Warren  Hastings Ij. 

Lord  Clive Ij. 

"William  Pitt;  and  the  Earl  of  Chatham     .     .    .     .  Ij. 
Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes;  and  Gladstone  on 

Cliurch  and  State ' 1«. 

life  and  "Writings  of  Addison ;  &  Horace  "Walpole  Ij. 


Lord  Bacon 1«. 

Lord   Bvron;   and  the  Comic  Dramatists  of  the 

Restoration Is" 

Frederick  the  Great Is" 

Hallam's  Constitutional  History  of  England      .     .  !*■ 
Croker's  Edition  of  Boswell's  Life  of  Jolinsou  .    .  Is- 


T,AYS   of  ANCIENT 


VIII 

ROME. 


Lord  Macaulay. 
George  Scharf,  F.S.A.  , 


By  the 


Right 


Hon. 


With   Woodcut  Illustrations,  original   and  from  the  Antique,  by 
Fcp.  4to.  price  21s.  boards;  morocco,  by  Hayday,  42s. 


T  ORD  MACAULAY'S  LAYS  of  ANCIENT  ROME, 


vrith  IVRY  and  the  ARMADA 16mo.  43.  6d.  cloth  ;  morocco,  by  Hayday,  10s.  6d. 


QPEECHES   of  the  Right  Hon.    Lord  MACAULAY, 

corrected  by  Himself.    Keio  Edition Svo.  12s. 


T  ORD    MACAULAY'S   SPEECHES   ON    PARLIA- 


ME^"TARY  REFORM  in  1831  and  1832.    Reprinted  in  the  Traveller's  Library. 

IGmo.  price  Is. 


MISCELLANEOUS 


TORD      MACAULAY'S 

•^-*  WRITrNGS  :  Comprising  his  Contributions  to  KnighVs  Quarterly  Magazine,  Articles 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review  not  included  in  his  Critical  and  Historical  Egsai/s,  Biographies 
written  for  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica,  Miscellaneous  Poems,  and  Inscriptions.  With  a 
Portrait 2  vols.  Svo.  21s. 


London  :  LONGMAN,  GREEN,  and  CO.,  Paternoster  Row. 


THE   LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  THE  REV.  SYDNEY  SMITH. 


The  Third  Edition,  in  Crown  8vo.  price  7s.  6d. 


WIT    AND    WISDOM 

OF   THE 

REV.    SYDNEY  SMITH. 

A   SELECTION  OF   THE 

MOST  iMEMORABLE  PASSAGES  IN  HIS  WRITINGS  AND  CONVERSATION. 


From,  the  Atlas  Neiv&paper,  December  15,  1860. 


rpHE  world-wide  celebrity 
J_  which  the  writings  of  Sydney 
Smith  have  obtained  renders  it  super- 
fluous to  say  much  by  way  of  introduc- 
tion to  a  Tolurae  composed  of  witty  passages 
selected  from  liis  "works.  AVherever  the  1  nfjlish 
language  is  spoken  or  our  literatuie  is  cultivated, 
there  it  may  be  safely  affirmed  his  writiuL-s  are 
kno.vn  and  his  merits  appri  ciated  In  whatever 
form  we  meet  with  the  polished  productions  of  liis 
pen,  the}'  are  always  acceptable  ;  a  never-f  iling  wel- 
come is  sure  to  greet  them.  Few  who  are  acquainted 
with  his  broad  and  benevolent  wisdom,  his  .-park- 
ling  wit,  his  tolerant  spirit,  h;s  enlightened  and  un- 
artected  piety  ami  the  large  catholic lieart  with  whh  h 
he  laboured  successfully  in  the  interets  of  huma- 
nity, but  desire  to  possess  his  writings,  that  they 
may  dip  into  them  at  any  moment  and  t.iste  the 
flavour  of  his  genius.  It  must  be  granted  that  every 
cndeavnu'-  has  been  made  to  meet  thi*  demand. 
V.ditions  of  his  works  are  now  before  the  public,  to 
suit  ail  classes  and  all  purcl'.ascrs,  so  that  no  one 
lued  be  now  withoiit  a  copy  of  the  writings  of 
Sychicy  Smith.  Kut  this  volume  of  his  •>  it  and 
ji'ii'lom  calls  for  especial  commendation.  If  anv- 
thing  can  tend  still  more  to  pipuhnize  the  remains 
of  this  eminent  writer  and  excellent  man.  this 
volume  Is  calculated  to  produce  that  desirable 
result.  His  wit  cannot  be  too  widely  circulated, 
his  wisdom  has  bee  me  the  inlierilance  of  all. 
Notwithstaiiding  the  great  popularity  of  Sydney 
Smith's  writings,  his  fame  witi,  future  gcner.i- 
lions  of  read  rs  must  rest  upon  the  wit  and  wisdom 
which  stand  out  pr.  minently  from  the  body  of 
his  pages,  quite  ii'resp'ctive  of  the  subject  in  hand. 
Writing  in  the  bi  ginning  of  the  century,  on  the 
great  pDl.tical  and  soci.al  questions  of  the  day, 
it  is  obvi  lus  that  many  of  his  topics  have  lost 
their  interest  for  the  general  readier.  It  seemed 
probable,  therefore,  that  many  things  worthy  to  be 
remembered  would  be  forgotten  with  the  subject 
that  gave  rise  to  them.  To  avoid  this  his  editor  has 
ad'jpted  the  happy  expedient  of  separating  the  most 
bri'liunt  :ind  instructive  pa-sages  from  his  writings, 
and  presenting  them  in  the  form  of  maxims  or 
apli'iri-ms:  so  ihat  we  have  here,  as  it  were  the 
e-sence  of  Sydney  Smith's  mind.  All  that  can 
be   gleaned  fi-om  what  he  wrote,  all    that  can    be 


remembered  and  collected  from 
his  conversation,  of  those  flashes  of 
merriment  tliat  were  wont  to  set  the 
table  in  a  roar,  are  brought  together  in  a 
compendious  lorm  for  the  benefit  of  his  ad'- 
mirers.  Iietached  thus  from  their  original  position, 
as  the  editor  remarks,  the  gems  are  displayed 
without  their  setting,  the  pearls  are  unstrung;  but 
being  gems  and  pearls  of  price,  they  sliine  with  a 
lustre  all  their  own.  If  there  could  b.'  any  objection 
to  this  volume,  it  would  be  that  it  is  likely  to  throw 
the  settings — t  >  keep  up  the  metaph  u-— a  lit'le  into 
the  shade  ;  a  result  which  we  should  very  much  re- 
gret, since  it  is  only  in  the  complete  work  that  the 
tine  scholarly  elegance  and  the  exquisite  st>le  of  the 
author  can  be  fully  appreciated.  But  to  all  true 
lovi  rs  of  literature  this  effect  can  on  y  be  tran-itory. 
However  much  it  may  encourage  their  iU'lokMce  at 
the  time,  it  will  be  sure  in  the  end  to  lead  them  to 
desire  a  more  perfect  acquaintance  with  his  works. 
Meaiiwhile  it  must  be  a. lowed  by  those  who  object 
to  selections  or  extracts  from  favour!  e  authors,  that 
this  volume  is  calcu.ated  ti  increase  the  number  of 
Sydney  Smith's  readers.  It  is  certain  to  bring  his 
pithy  sayings  and  shrewd  thoughts  within  the  reach 
of  many  who  have  not  the  iei>ure,  perhaps  not  the 
inclination  to  seek  for  them  in  the  body  o  his  works  ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  to  all,  reduced  to  the 
form  in  which  this  volume  piesents  them,  tl.ey  will 
possess  the  quality  of  more  permanently  fixing  them- 
selves on  the  mind  of  the  reader  than  in  their  ori- 
ginal position.  The  great  charm  of  this  volume  is  the 
variety  of  thought  and  expression  it  contains.  Sydney 
^raith  w.is  by  no  means  a  one-sidi-d  man,  nor  was  he 
a  man  of  one  idea.  There  are  few  t'  pics  of  piiblic 
iuteiest  upon  w hich  he  has  not  had  his  say ;  and 
mostly  hi-5  sayings  apply  now  with  all  the  force  they 

did  at  the  time  he  penned  them We  mii'lit  go  on 

quoting  without  end  from  this  charming  volume,  to 
illustrate  the  variety  and  liberality  of  thought  it 
cimtains ;  but  our  space  is  circumscribed,  and  we 
think  we  have  given  sutHcient  to  indicate  its  value. 
Every  one  possessing  it  is  -'ure  to  acquiie  a  veryfiir 
avera_'e  knowledge  of  the  life  and  writings  of  the 
author,  for  this  selection  is  judiciousl^  interspersed 
witli  many  autobiographieiil  sketches;  and  we  shall 
be  very  much  surprised  if  the  volume  do  not  becuuie 
exceedingly  popular. 


SELECTIONS  from  the  Rev.  SYDNEY  SMITH'S  WRITINGS.      2  vols.  16mo.  53. 

ELEMENTARY  SKETCHES  of  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY" Fcp.  8vo.  7s. 

People's  Edition  of  the  Rev.  SYDNEY  SMITH'S  WORKS.     2  vols,  crown  8vo.  8s. 
The  Rev.  SYDNEY  SMITH'S  WORKS,   4th  Edition,  Portrait... 3  vols.  8vo.  36s. 

An  Edition  of  the  same,  in  Volumes  for  the  Pocket 3  vols.  fcp.  Svo.  2l3. 

One- Volume  Editio.v,  with  Portrait  and  Vignette Square  crown  Svo.  21s. 

MEMOIR  of   the    Rev.  SYDNEY  SMITH.     By  his    Daughter,  Lady  Holland. 
With  Selection  from  his  Letters,  edited  by  Mrs.  Austin  2  vols.  Svo.  28s. 


London:  LONGMAN,  GREEN,  and  CO.,  Paternoster  Row. 


THE  ELEVENTH    EDlTIOiM    OF  HORME'S  INTRODUCTION 
TO  THE  SCRIPTURES. 


Complete  in  4  vols.  Svo.  pp.  3,36-i,  with  4  Maps  engraved  on  Steel,  and 
22  Vignettes,  and  Facsimiles  engraved  on  Wood,  73s.  6d.  cloth, 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  CRITICAL  STUDY 
AND  KNOWLEDGE 

OF   THE 

HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 

By   the    Rev.    THOMAS     HARTWELL     HORNE,    B.D. 

OP   ST.   JOHN'S   COLLEGE,   CAMBBIDGEJ    PEEBENDAET    OF   ST.  PAUL'S,   ETC. 

The  Eleventh  Edition,  entirely  recomposed: 

revised  and  corrected  throughout.    Edited  by  the  Rev.  T.  HORNE,  B.D. 

(the  Author) ;  the  Rev.  JOHN  AYRE,  M.A.  of  Gonville  and  Caius  College,  Cambridge; 

the  Rev.  SAMUEL  DAVIDSON,  D.D.  of  the  University  of  Halle,  and  LL.D.; 

and  SAMUEL  PRIDEAUX  TREGELLES,  LL.D. 


§5"  Tlie  Volumes  are  sold  separately,  as  follows  : — 

Vol.  I. 

A  SUMMARY  of  the  EVIDENCE  for  the  GENUINENESS,  AUTHENTICITY, 
-fl  UNCORRUPTED  PRESEEVATIOX,  and  IlfSPIEATIO^"  of  the  HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 
By  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Hobne,  B.D 15s. 

Vol.  II. 

HORNE'S  INTRODUCTION  to  the  CRITICISM  of  the  OLD  TESTAMENT 
and  to  BIBLICAL  INTERPRETATIOX  ;  with  an  Analysis  of  the  Books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  Apocrypha.     Revised  and  edited  by  the  Rev.  John  Atee,  M.A 253. 


"  Y^E  gladly  recognise  a  new  and  most 

abiy  executed  edition  of  the  Eer.  T.  H. 
Home's  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament.  No  one, 
perhaps,,  eould  be  better  adapted  for  such  a  revision 
th.in  the  Rev.  John  Ayre,  whose  publication  of  the 
±.urly  Reformers  in    the   Parker   Society  places   him 


in  the  foremost  ranks  of  sound  theologians. 

He  has,  in  the  present  work,  done  justice  to  his  vene- 
rable predecessor  as  well  as  to  his  own  fame,  and  the 
book  will  be  hailed  by  all  competent  judges  as  a  very 
necessary  and  opportune  addition  to  literature.  " 

John  Bull. 


Vol.  II. 
THE    TEXT    of   the    OLD    TESTAMENT    CONSIDERED:    With    a  Treatise 
-»-      on  Sacred  liiterpretation ;    and  a    brief  Introduction  to  the   Old   Testament  Books   and  the 
Apocri/'pha.    By  S.  Davidson,  D.D.  (Halle)  and  LL.D 253. 

Vol.  III. 
A    SUMMARY   of  BIBLICAL   GEOGRAPHY  and   ANTIQUITIES.      By  the 

-ti.  Rev.  T.  H.  HoRNE,  B.D.  1.  Sketch  of  the  Historical  and  Physical  Geography  of  the  Holy 
Laud.  2.  Political  Antiquities  of  the  Jews.  3.  Sacred  Antiquities,  and  i.  Domestic  Antiquities,  of  the 
Jews,  and  of  other  A'ations  incidentally  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures.  Appendix  :  I.  Tables  of 
Weights,  Measures,  and  Money  mentioned  in  the  Bible;  II.  Chronological  Table  of  the  principal 
Events  recorded  in  the  Scriptures;  III.  Concise  Dictionary  of  the  Symbolical  Language  of  the  Scrip- 
tures,  to  facilitate  the  Perusal  of  the  Poetical  and  Prophetical  Books;  IV.  Historical,  Biographical, 
and  Geographical  Dictionary  of  the  principal  >'ations.  Persons,  and  Places  mentioned  in  the  Scrip- 
ttires    ^^^' 

Vol.  IV. 
A  N  INTRODUCTION  to  the   TEXTUAL  CRITICISM  of  the  NEW  TESTA- 

ii  MENT  :  With  Analyses,  &c.,  of  the  respective  Books;  and  a  Bibliograjihical  List  of 
Editions  of  the  Scriptures 'in  the  Original  Texts  and  the  Ancient  Versions.  By  the  Rev.  T.  H. 
HoENE,  B.D.  The  Critical  Part  rewritten  and  the  remainder  revised  and  edited  by  S.  P. 
Tbegelles,  LL.D.    Second  Edition,  rexiaed;   with  an  Appendix  of  Additions ISs. 

ADDITIONS  to  the  FOURTH  VOLUME  of  HORDE'S  INTRODUCTION  to  the  HOLY 
SCRIPTURE?,  comprisins  New  Facts  relative  to  Textual  Criticism,  with  an  especial  >otice  of  Tischendorfs 
Codex  banaiticus.    By  b.  P  .TaEOELLEs,  LL.D t*^";  Is.  6d. 


London  :  LONGMAl^,  GREEN  and  CO.,  Paterncster  Eow. 


WORKS  OF  CHARITY   PRACTICALLY  CONSIDERED  AS 
OCCUPATION  FOR  UNMARRIED  LADIES. 

The  Third  Edition,  in  fcp.  8vo.  price  6s. 

MY  LIFE, 

AND 

WHAT  SHALL  1   DO  WITH  IT? 

A  QUESTION"  FOB  YOUNG  GENTLE"W"OMEN. 

BY  AN  OLD  MAID. 


"  'T'HERE  is  a  vehemence  and 
-I-  shrillness  of  tone  in  most  of  the 
books  on  the  conditiou-of-women  ques- 
tion which  make  the  present  work,  with 
its  interrogative  title,  pleasant  in  its 
quiet  good  sense  and  good  taste.  It  is 
addressed  to  women  who  have  no  need 
to  work  for  their  living,  and  who  are  at 
leisure,    with    no    pressure    of  domestic 

duties  to  take  up  their  time It  is 

written  with  good  feeling,  and  also  with 
that  crowning  virtue — the  only  virtue 
that  brings  its  own  reward — good  sense. 

We  need  not  enter  deeply  into  the 

question, — we  refer  our  readers  to  the 
work  itself,  which  for  its  genial,  earnest, 
sensible  spirit,  is  well  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  all  who,  like  children  on  a 
rainy  day,  are  wanting  something  to  do. 
They  will  find  suggestions  innumerable, 
which  all  who  desire  to  use  their  gifts  of 

education,  money,  or  leisure  to  advantage  may  turn 
to  use.  They  will  open  tlieir  eyes  to  see  for  them- 
selves the  ways  in  which  tliey  individually  may 
work  and  help.  The  value  of  a  book  lies  in  what  it 
suggests  to  us,-  in  what  it  enables  us  to  see  and 
feci,  which  we  did  not  see  or  feel  before,— in  the 
spirit  it  awakens  within  us,—  and  not  in  the  things 
actually  said.  Such  worth,  such  suggestions,  arc  in 
My  Life^  and  wlmt  shall  1  dotcitk  it  ?"— Athen  jeum. 

THOUGH  some  such  title  as 
the  one  which  we  have  prefixed 
to  this  article"  [An  Essay  on  Charity  as 
an  Employment  for  Ladies]  "would  have 
been   more   appropriate,    it  could  hardly 

have  beei!  prefixed  to  a  better  book 

in  the  present  case  the  book  is  so  tho- 
roughly good  that  any  blemish  in  it"  [an 

affected  title]  "  is  doubly  vexatious The  general 

object  of  the  book  is  to  show  how  educated  gentle- 
women who  have  the  leisure  and  the  will  may  em- 
ploy their  own  advantages  in  the  improvement  of 
uneducated  ungentle  women,  and  of  their  social 
condition,  and  to  sliow  how  they  may  best  prepare 
for  that  work.  It  begins  by  remarking — what  no 
doubt  is  true  that  many  unmarried  w  omen  in  easy 
circumstances  have,  in  the  present  state  of  society, 
no  important  duties  of  their  own  to  attend  to.    Slie 


carefully  limits  the  class  to  which 
she  refers,  and  confines  her  observations 
to  grown-up  women  who  are  in  easy  cir- 
cumstances and  have  no  domestic  duties. 
Such  persons,  she  says,  are  greatly  in 
want  of  employment,  and  are  eminently 
fitted  in  various  ways  to  undertake  cha- 
ritable labours ;  and  she  proceeds,  with 
skill  and  good  sense,  to  give  practical 
advice  as  to  the  manner  in  which  this 
may  be  done.  Tliis  employment,  she 
says,  will  in  itfself  furnish  the  best  possi- 
ble training  for  the  duties  of  a  wife  and 
a  mother,  if  the  persons  who  adopt  it 
should  marry  ;  whilst,  if  they  do  not,  it 
will  supply  them  with  a  useful  occupa- 
tion  for  their  lives The  substance 

of  the  essay  deserves  almost  unmixed 
praise.  Most  men  would  probably 
agree  in  the  opinion  that  no  human 
being  is  entitled  to  so  much  reverence,  or 

approaches  so  nearly  to  our  highest  conceptions  of 
goodness,  as  a  really  good  woman  ;  and  this  little 
book  is  pervaded  throughout  by  the  kindness,  the 
considerate  tenderness,  and  the  keen  observation 
and  quiet  good  sense  which  go  to  make  up  that  cha- 
racter. Tlie  temper  in  which  it  is  written  is 
thoroughly  ladylike.  There  is  not  a  word  in  it 
which  could  oifend  the  most  scrupulous  sense  of 
self-respect ;  and  fi-om  first  to  last  it  is  marked  by  a 
constant  suppression  of  personal  inclinations  irrele- 
vant to  the  matter  in  hand.  The  authoress,  for 
example,  is  obviously  not  only  fond  of  poetry,  but 
deeply  moved  by  it,  yet  she  hardly  ever  quotes  it: 
and  though  little  phrases  here  and  there  seem  to 
indicate  he  existence  of  strong  religious  emotions, 
she  never  dwells  upon  them  She  is  writing,  as  she 
says,  on  an  out^vard  or  practical  subject,  and  ac- 
cordingly CO'  fines  herself  strictly  to  the  practical 
side  of  religion.  It  is  quite  curious  to  .see  how  her 
good  sense  keeps  her  out  of  all  the  pitfalls  into 
which  an  equally  amiable  but  less  thoughtful 
woman    would    have    been    almost  sure     to    fall   in 

writing  on  such  a  subject The  intel- 
lectual merits  of  the  book  ai-e  vei-y 
striking.  They  consist  in  strong  good 
sense,  the  generosity  which  usually  ac- 
companies that  quality,  and  a  singularly 
keen  power  of  observation.  Almost 
every  page  affords  exam[)les  of  this." 
Sati'BDay  Review. 


London  :  LONGMAN,  GEEEN,  and  CO.,  Paternoster  Row. 


BOOKS    OF    INSTRUCTION 


SCHOOLS   AND   YOUNG  PERSONS. 


PASSING    THOUGHTS    on    RELIGION.       By   the    Author     of 


Amy  Herbert.    Third  Edition,  revised.     Fcp.  8vo.  5». 


'"THESE  meditations  and  exhortations 

-*"  bear  on  every  page  the  general  impress  of  the 
qualities  which  distinguish  the  writings  of  the  author 
of  Amy  Herbert.  Refinement  of  taste,  unoriing 
correctness  of  judgment,  a  sensibility  of  spiritual 
discernment  which  leaves  no  dark  corner  of  the  heart 
unlighted,  no  darling  sin  unremarked ;  hut  every 
sentence  actuated  and  pervaded  by  the  tenderestsym- 
p;ithy,  and  the  most  earnest  desire  to  point  out  both 


the  danger  and  the  remedy.    To  multiply 

extracts  would  be  a  pleasant  task  ;  but  one  must  suf- 
fice, which  is  given  in  the  hope  that  the  whole  of  this 
small  volume  may  soon  become  familiar  to  a  large 

circle  of  readers In  addition    to  their  moral  and 

religious  weigh;,  the  works  of  this  lady  are  a  model 
of  correct  writing  and  clear  expression.  There  is 
never  any  doubt  as  to  hir  meaning,  which  flows 
lucidly  forth  in  the  most  fitting  words."        Globe. 


READINGS   for   a  MONTH  PREPARATORY  to  CONFIRMA- 
TION.    Compiled  from  the  Works  of  the  Writers  of  the  Early  and  of  the  English  Church. 
By  the  Author  of  .4m^  fl^erfteri.    New  Edition.    Pep.  8vo.  4s. 

ni. 

OELF-EXAMINATION  before  CONFIRMATION  ;  with  Devotions 

O    and  Directions  for  Confirmation-day.    By  the  Author  of  .^m^  fierier^.    32mo.  Is.  6(/. 

IT. 

READINGS   for    EVERY  DAY    in    LENT.      Compiled  from  the 
Writings  of  Bishop  Jebemy  Tayloe.    By  the  Author  of  Amy  Herbert.     Fourth  Edition. 
Fcp.  8vo.  5s. 

V. 

HISTORY   of  the  EARLY  CHURCH,  from  the  first  Preaching  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  Council  of  Nicea     By  the  Author  of  Amy  Herbert.    18mo.  4s.  Qd, 

VI. 

A    FIRST  HISTORY  of  GREECE,  from  the  Siege  of  Troy,  B.c.  1184, 

xi.  to  the  Destruction  of  Corinth,  B.C.  146.  By  the  Author  of  Amy  Herbert.  New  Editioni 
revised.    Fcp.  8vo.  3s.  6i. 

VII. 

rPHE  CHILD'S  FIRST  HISTORY  of  ROME,  from  the  Foundation 

-L  of  Rome,  B.C.  753,  to  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  under  Titus,  a.d.  70.  By  the  Author  of  Amy 
Herbert.    Eighth  Edition.    Fcp.  8vo.  2s.  M. 

VIII. 

pONTES    FACILES,  selected  by  the  Author  of  Amy  Herbert.     A 

\J  Series  of  Amusing  Stories  in  French,  intended  to  give  Children  an  interest  in  reading  when 
they  are  beginning  to  understand  the  language  ;  and  to  precede  in  use  Extraits  Choieis,  by  the 
same  Author.    Fcp.  8vo. — Nearly  ready. 

IX. 

EXTRAITS  CHOISIS  ;  or,  Selections  from  Modern  French  Writers. 
By  the  Author  of  .4»«^ -Herierf.    New  Edition,  revised.    Crown  8vo.  5s. 

X. 

JOURNAL  KEPT  during  a  SUMMER  TOUR,  for  the  Children  of  a 

W  Village  School  :  from  Ostend  to  the  Lake  of  Constance ;  thence  to  the  Simplon,  and  through 
part  of  the  Tyrol  to  Genoa.    By  the  Author  of  .^HiyJTeriert.    With  Eoute  Maps.    Fcap.    8vo.  5s. 


URSULA:    a  Tale    of    English  Country   Life. 
Amy  Herbert.    New  Edition.    2  vols.  fcp.  8vo.  12s. 


By  the  Author  of 


O TORIES    and   TALES  by   the    Author    of  Amy    Herbert.      New 

^     and  Cheaper   collected  Edition.     In  0  vols,  crown  8vo.   30s. ;   or  each   work  complete  in  a 
single  volume. 

CLEVE  HALL 3».  6i. 

IVORS,  or,  the  TWO  COUSINS   3s.  &d. 

KATHARINE   ASHTON 3s.  6d. 

MARGARET  FEfiCIVAL  5s. 


AMY  HERBERT 2».  M. 

GERTRUDE 2s.  6<i. 

The  EARL'S  DAUGHTER  2».  6rf. 

The  EXPERIENCE  of  LIFE 2s.  6i. 


LANETON  PARSONAGE,  4s.  6d. 


London  :  LONGMAN,  GREEN,  and  CO.,  Paternoster  Row. 


ENGLISH  POLITICAL  SONGS  AND  BALLADS. 


Just  published,  in  2  vols,  post  8vo.  price  ISs. 

POLITICAL   BALLADS 

OP   THB 

SEVENTEENTH  AND  EIGHTEENTH  CENTUEIES. 
Annotated  by  W.  WALKER  WILKINS. 


Epigraph. — "  More  solid  things  do  not  show  the  com- 
plexion of  the  times  so  well  as  Ballads  and  Libels." 

Selden's  Table  Talk. 


THIS  collection  comprises  124 
ballads,  dated  from  a.d.  16-11 
to  A.D.  1757,  chronologically  ar- 
ranged under  the  reigns  of  Charles 
I.,  Commonwealth,  Charles  II.,  James 
II.,  William  III.,  Anne,  George  I.  and 
George  II.,  gleaned  from  rare  single  sheets 
and  broadsides  (many  believed  to  be 
unique),  old  MSS.  and  contemporary  jour- 
Eah,  with  some  from  scarce  volumes 
printed  towards  the  close  of  the  17th 
and  early  in  the  18th  centuries,  and 
a  few  for  completeness  from  more  mo- 
dern books.  '  When  the  King  enjoys  his 
own  again,'  '  A  Mad  World,  my  Masters,' 
*  The  Protecting  Brewer, '  *  Clarendon's 
House  Warming,'  '  Lilli  Burlero,'  '  Rome 
in  an  Uproar,'  'The  Old  Grey  Mare 
(Queen  Anne),'  'The  Pretender's  Flight 
and  Lamentation,'  '  Admiral  Hosier's 
Ghost,'  and  many  other  once  popular 
pieces  of  poetical  humour  reflecting  the 
sentiments  of  our  ancestors  on  the  poli- 
tical men  and  events  of  their  day,  are 
here  correctly  printed  ;  with  particulars 
respecting  the  writers  whenever  ascer- 
tainable, the  names  originally  omitted  or 
initialed  supplied  in  full,  and  brief  expla- 
natory notices  of  the  events  and  person- 
ages alluded  to  added  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  general  reader.  Each  ballad 
is  given  verbatim  ;  care  having  been  first 
taken  to  reproduce  such  only  as  are 
characteristic  and  illustrative  of  the  pe- 
riod to  which  they  relate,  and  to  include 
none  of  an  indelicate  nature  either  in 
subject  or  language. 


THIS  is  a  book  that  will  be  of 
great  use  to  the  general  student 
of  English  History — one  who  reads  to 
know  the  history  of  the  English  people 
during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  It  is  a  book  that  was  wanted. 
Since  the  days  of  Fletcher  of  Saltoun, 
who  made  the  oft- quoted  remark  about 
the  importnnce  of  a  nation's  songs,  as 
compared  with  their  laws,  all  writers  on 
history  and  the  dojnestic  lives  of  nations 
have  given  some  attention  to  the  expres- 
sion of  the  vox  populi  in  street  songs 
and  occasional  ballads.  Macaulay's  His- 
tory is  warmed  and  enlightened  by  the 
fire  and  light  of  ballads,  broadsheets,  and 
popular  satires  and  invectives.  After 
the  pleasant  labour  of  examining  these 
two  carefully-edited  volumes  we  have  to 
report  that  the  work  is  very  well  done. 
The    ballads     and     songs    are     grouped 

together  chronologically.  The  first  is  directed 
against  Laud,  the  Organ's  Echo,  and  is  dated  by 
Mr.  Wllkins,  1641,  and  must  certainly  have  been 
popular  in  that  year.  The  last  ballad  is  a  satirical 
medley  about  the  Secret  Ezpcdiimn  of  1757  mulcr 
Admiral  Ha)vke  and  Generals  Murdnunl  and 
Comcay.  Within  these  two  dates,  we  have  the 
great  piiblic  events  which  have  enabled  the  English 
nation  to  breathe  at  last  as  freely  as  they  do  now. 
Every  ballad  printed  here  is  a  sign  of  the  times,  and 
a  warning  to  the  ruling  powers  that  hritons  neccr 
will  be  slaves.  There  is  much  rough  talent  and  wit 
displayed  in  each  era,  but,  we  think,  indignation 
makes  better  verses  in  the  time  of  the  civil  wars 
between  Charles  I.  and  the  Parliament,  than  she  has 
done  since,  until  we  come  to  the  times  of  Charles 
Hanbury  "Williams.  Each  ballad  is  preceded  by  a 
note  explaining  all  that  is  knoAvn  about  it,  and  occa- 
sionally some  critical  remarks.  These  annotations 
add  very  m\ich  to  the  value  of  the  work.  Mr. 
Wilkins  has  very  properly  printed  the  names  in  full 
which  were  originally  <mly  indicated  by  a  blank  or 
by  initial  letters.  These  volumes  are  so  good  that 
we  hope  to  see  the  third  volume  (half-pioraised) 
containing  similar  popular  poetry,  since  the  reign  of 
George  II."  Spectatob. 


London  :    LONGMAN,  GEEEN,  and  CO.,  Paternoster  Row, 


LIST 

WOKKS  IN  GMEEAL   LITERATURE 

PUBLISHED    BY 

MESSRS.  LONGMAN,   GREEN,  LONGMAN,  AND   ROBERTS 

39  Patebnostee  Kow,  London. 


CLASSIFIED      INDEX 


.griculture    and    Rural 
Affairs. 

Bayldon  on  Valuing  Rents,  &c.    -  4 

Cecil's  Stud  Farm         -        -        -  G 
Hoskyns'9  Talpa    --■'•" 

Loudon's  Agriculture     -        .       -  13 

Morion  on  Landed  Property          -  IB 

"        (J.  C.)  Dairy  Husbandry   -  16 

rts,   Manufactures,   and 
Arcbitecture. 

Bourne's  Catechism  of  the  Steam 

Engine        -        -        -                -  * 

Brande's  Dictionary  ofScience.&c.  4 

"        Organic  Chemistry-       -  4 

Cresy's  Civil  Engineering      "        "  S 

Fairbairn's  Informa.  for  Engineers  / 

"        on  Mills  and  Millwork  7 

Falliener's  Dafdalus        .        -        -  7 

"  Museum    of  Classical 

Antiquities           -        -        -        -  i 

Goodeve's  Elements  of  Mechanism  8 

Gwilt's  Encyclo.  of  Architecture  -  8 

Harford's  Plates  Irom  M.  Angelo   -  8 

Humphreys's  Parables  Illuminated  10 

Jameson's  Saints  and  Martyrs       -  11 

"         Monastic  Orders    -        -  U 

"         Legends  of  Madonna    -  11 

"         Commonplace-Book      -  11 

Konig's  Pictorial  Life  of  Luther    -  8 

Loudon's  Rural  Architecture        -  13 

Lore's  Art  of  Dyeing      -        -        -  13 

Lowndes's  Engineer's  Handbook-  13 

MacDougall's  Campaigns  of  Han- 

nibal            -        -  U 

"            Theory  of  "War        -  14 

Moseley'sEngineering  -        -       -  16 

Piesse's  Art  of  Perfumery      -        -  18 

"       Laboratory    of    Chymical 

Wonders      -        -        -       -       -  18 

Richardson's  Art  of  Horsemanship  18 

Scoffern  on  Projectiles,  &c.   -        -  19 

Steam-Engine,by  the  Artisan  Club  4 

Ure's  Dictionaryof  Arts,&c.         -  23 

iography. 

Arago's  Lives  of  Scientific  Men  -  :i 
Baillie's  Memoir  of  Bate  -  -  3 
Brialmont's  Wellington  -  •  4 
Bunsen's  Hippolytus  -  -  -  6 
Bunting's  (Dr.)  Life  -  -  -  5 
Crosse's  (Andrew)  Memorials  -  6 
Green's  Princesses  of  England  -  8 
Harford's  Life  of  Michael  Angelo  -  8 
Lardner's  Cabinet  CydopEedia  -  12 
Marshman's  Life  of  Carey,  Marsh- 
man,  and  Ward  -  15 
Life  of  Haveloek  -  13 
Maunder's  Biographical  Treasury-  15 
Mountain's  (Col.)  Memoirs  -  -  16 
Palleske's  Life  of  Schiller  -  -  17 
Parry's  (Admiral)  Memoirs  -  -  17 
Peel's  Sketch  of  sir  R.  Peel's  Life 

and  Character     -        -        -        -  17 

Piozzi's  Autobiography  and  Letters  18 

Russell's  Memoirs  of  Moore           -  16 

"          (Dr.)  Mezzofanti  -        -  19 

SchimmelPenninck's  (Mrs.)  Life  -  19 

Shee's  Life  of  Sir  M.  A.  Shee         -  2(1 

Southey's  Life  of  Wesley        -        -  21 

Stephen's  Ecclesiastical  Biography  21 

Strickland's  Queens  of  England    -  21 

Sydney  Smith's  Memoirs        -        -  21 
'VVater'ton'6Autobiography& Essays  23 

looks  of  General  Utility. 

Acton's  Cookery  Book  -  .  -  3 
Black's  Treatise  on  Brewing-  -  4 
Cabinet  Gazetteer  -  -  -  -  5 
"  Lawyer  -  -  -  -  5 
Cust's  Invalid's  Own  Book  -  -  g 
Hensman's  Handbook  of  the  Con- 
stitution      9 

Hints  on  Etiquette         -        -        -  9 

Hudson's  Executor's  Guide    -       -  10 

"      on  Making  Wills        -       -  10 


Hunter's  Art  of  Writing  Precis     -  11 
Kesteven's  Domestic  Medicine       -  11 
Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopaedia       -  13 
Loudon's  Lady's  Country  Compa- 
nion    ------  13 

Maunder's  Treasury  of  Knowledge  15 

"          Biographical  Treasury  15 

"         Geographical  Treasury  15 

"          Scientific  Treasury       -  15 

"          Treasury  of  History      -  15 

**          Natural  History  -        -  15 

Piesse's  Art  of  Perfumery      -         -  18 

Pitt's  How  to  Brew  Good  Beer      -  18 

Pocket  and  the  Stud      -        -        -  K 

Pycroft's  English  Reading     -        -  18 

Richardson's  Art  of  Horsemanship  18 

Riddle's  Latin  Dictionaries     -        -  19 

Roget's  English  Thesaurus  -        -  19 

Rowton'3  Debater  -       -       -        -  19 

Short  Whist 20 

Simpson's  Handbook  of  Dining     -  20 
Sleigh's     Personal    Wrongs     and 

Legal  Remedies  -        -        .        -  20 

Thomson's  Interest  Tables    -        -  22 
Walford's  Handybook  of  the  Civil 

Service         -        _        -        -        -  23 

Webster's  Domestic  Economy       -  23 

West  on  Nursing  Sick  Children    -  24 

Willich's  Popular  Tables        -        -  24 

Wilmot's  Blackstone     -       -       -  24 

Botany  and  Gardening. 

Hassall's  British  Freshwater  Alga  9 

Hooker's  British  Flora    -        -       -  10 

"        Guide  to  Kew  Gardens  -  10 

Lindley's  Introduction  to  Botany  12 

'*        Synopsis  of  the   British 

Flora     -        -        -        -  12 

**         Theory  of  Horticulture  -  13 

Loudon's  Hortus  Britannicus        -  13 

"          Amateur  Gardener         -  13 

"         Trees  and  Shruba  -       -  13 

"         Gardening      -        -       -  13 

"         Plants     -       -       -        -  13 

Pereira's  Materia  Medica       -        -  17 

Rivers's  Rose-Amateur's  Guide    -  19 

Wilson's  British  Mosses         -        -  24 

Chronology. 

Brewer's  Historical  Atlas       -        -  4 

Bunsen's  Ancient  Egypt        -        -  5 

Haydn's  Beatson's  Index        -        -  9 

Jaquemet's  Abridged  Chronology  -  U 

Nicolas's  Chronology  of  History  -  12 

Commerce  and  Mercantile 
Affairs  • 

Gilbart's  Logic  of  Banking    -        -  S 

Lorimer's  Young  Master  Mariner  -  13 
Mcculloch's  Commerce  tS:  Navigation  14 

Thomson's  Interest  Tables    -       -  22 

Tooke's  History  of  Prices      -        -  23 

Criticism,    History,    and 
Memoirs. 

Brewer's  Historical  Atlas      -     -     -  4 

Bunsen's  Ancient  Egypt        -        -  5 

"         Hippolytus     -        -        -  5 

Burke's  Vicissitudes  of  Faniilies    -  5 

Chapman's  Gustavus  Adolphus     -  6 
dough's     Greek      History    from 

Plutarcli  -----  6 
Conybeare  and  Howson's  St.  Paul  6 
Connolly's  Sappers  and  Miners  -  6 
Crowe's  History  of  France  -  -  6 
Frazer's  Letters  during  the  Penin- 
sular and  Waterloo  Campaigns  7 
Gurney's  Historical  Sketches  -  8 
Hayward's  Essays  -  -  -  -  9 
Hensman's  Handbook  of  the  Con- 
stitution -----  9 
Herschel's  Essays  and  Addresses  -  9 
Jeffrey's  (Lord)  Essays  -  -  11 
Kemble's  Anglo-Saxons        -        -  11 


Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopsedia      -  12 
Latham's  Works  on  the    English 

Language     -----  11 

Lowe's  Campaigns  in  Central  India  13 

Macaulay's  Crit.  and  Hist.  Essays  14 

"  History  of  England      -  13 

Miscellaneous  Writings  13 

. "  Speeches       -        -         -  14 

Mackintosh's  Miscellaneous  Works  14 

"  History  of  England  -  14 

M'Culloch'sGeograpnicalDictionary  14 

Maunder's  Treasury  of  History      -  IS 

Merivale's  History  of  Rome  -        -  15 

"  Roman  Republic  -        -  16 

Moore's  (Thomas)  Memoirs, &c.    -  16 

Mure's  Greek  Literature        -        -  16 

Palleske's  Life  &  Works  of  Schiller  17 

Piozzi's  Autobiography  &  Letters  18 

Porter's  Knights  of  Malta      -        -  18 

Raikes's  Journal    -        -        -        -  18 

Rich's  R.  and  G.  Antiquities-        -  18 

Riddle's  Latin  Lexicon  -  19 

Rogers's  Essays  from  Edinb.  ReTiewl9 

"       (Sam.)  Recollections       -  19 

Roget's  English  Thesaurus   -        -  19 

SchimmelPenninck's   Memoirs  of 

Port  Royal  -        -  19 

•*  Principles  of 

Beauty,  &c.        -        -        -  19 

Schmitz's  History  of  Greece  -  19  ) 

Southey's  Doctor  -        -        -       -  21 

Stephen's  Ecclesiastical  Biographv  21 

"     Lectures  on  French  History  21 

Sydney  Smith's  Works  -       -       -  21 

**  Lectures         -       -  21 

"  Memoirs         -         -  21 

Thirlwall's  Historyof  Greece        -  21 

Turner's  Anglo-Saxons  -        -  23 

White  &  Riddle's  Latin  Dictionary  24 

Whiteside's  Italy     .        -         -         -  24 

Wilkins's  Political  Ballads   ^        -  24 

Wilmot's  Brougham's  Law  Reforms  24 

Geography  and  Atlases. 

Brewer's  Historical  Atlas      -       _  4 

Butler's  Geography  and  Atlases   -  5 

Cabinet  Gazetteer  -        -        -        .  5 

Johnston's  General  Gazetteer         -  11 
M'Culloch's  GeographicalDictionary  14 

Maunder's  Treasury  of  Geography  15 

Murray's  Encyclo.  of  Geography   -  17 

Sharp's  British  Gazetteer       -        -  20 

Juvenile  BookSi 

Amy  Herbert  -        -        -        -  .  oq 

Cleve  Hall 20 

Earl's  Daughter  (The)   -        -  -  20 

Experience  of  Life           -       -  -  20 

Gertrude         -        -                -  -  20 

Hewitt's  Boy's  Country  Book  -  10 

"       (Mary)  Children's  Year  -  10 


20 


Katharine  Ashton  -        -        -        -  20 

Laneton  Parsonage          -        ■-        -  20 

Margaret  Percival  -  -  -  -  20 
Piesse's   Chymical,    Natural,    and 

Ph  ysical  Magic  -  18 
"         Laboratory  of  Chymical 

Wonders      -        -        -  18 

Pycroft's  Collegian's  Guide    -        -  18 

Medicine,  Surgery,  Sec. 

Brodie's  Psychological  Inquiries  -  4 

Bull's  Hints  to  Mothers-       -        -  4 

"      Management  of  Children     -  4 

Copland's  Dictionary  of  Medicine  -  f! 

Cust's  Invalid's  Own  Book     -        -  6 

Holland's  Mental  Physiology  -  9 
"        Medical  Notes  and  Reflect.    9 

Kesteven's  Domestic  Medicine      -  1 1 

Pereira's  Materia  Medica       -        -  17 

Spencer's  Psychology  -  -  -  21 
Todd's    Cyclopaedia    of  Anatomy 

and  Physiology   -       -        -        -  23 

West  on  Children's  Diseases  -        -  24 

"       Nursing  Sick  Children    -  24 


CLASSIFIED  INDEX  TO  GENEEAL  CATALOaUE. 


Miscellaneous  and  General 
Literature. 

Bacon's  fLorrt)  Works    -        -        -  3 

Bo^ise's  Pliilosiiphv  of  Nature        -  4 

Bray  on  Educ  ition  of  the  Feelings  4 

Defence  of  Eriipseo/fot(A    -        -  7 

Eclipse  of  Faith       -        -                 -  l 

Greyson's  ><elect  Correspondence  -  8 

Gur'ney's  Evenina  Recreations  -  8 
Hassali's*ilulterations Delected,&c.    8 

Havdn'9  Booli  of  Dignities     -        -  9 

Holland's  Mental  Physiology         -  9 

Hooker's  Ke%v  Guide      -        -         -  10 

Howard's  Gymnastic  Exercises      -  10 

Hewitt's  Rural  Life  of  England  -  10 
"        Visitsto  RemarkahlePlaceslO 

Jameson's  CommnnplaceBook      -  H 

Mar.aulav's  *^peeches      -        -        -  14 

Mackintosh's  Miscellaneous  Woaks  14 

Martmeau's  Miscellanies       -        -  14 

Newman  on  University  Education  17 
"             OfHce  and   Work    of 

Universities         -        -        -       -  17 

Newman's  Lectures  and  Essays  -  17 

Pycrnlfs  F.nzlish  Reading     -        -  18 

Rich's  Dictionary  of  Antiquities  -  18 

Riddle's  L;itin  Dictionaries   -       -  19 

Rnwion's  Dehater           -^        -        -  19 

Sir  Roser  DeCoverlej    -         -        -  21) 

Southey's  Doctor,  &c.    -         -        -  21 

Spencer's  Essays    -        -        -        -  21 

Stow's  Trainins  System         -        -  21 

Thomson's  Laws  of  Thousht  -  23 
Trevelvan  on  the  Native  Languages 

of  India 23 

White  &  Riddle's  Latin  Dictionary  21 

Wdlich's  Popular  Tables        -        -  24 

W'it  and  Wisdom  of  Sydney  Smith  21 

Yonge's  Enirlish-Greek  Lclicon  -  24 

"        Latin  Gradus            -        -  24 

Zumpt'8  Latin  Grammar       -       -  24 

Natural  History  in  general. 

Agassi?,  on  Classification       -        -  3 

Callows  Popular  Conchology         -  6 

Ephemera's  Book  ofthe  Salmon    -  7 

Garralt's  Marvels  of  Instinct  -  7 
Gosse's  Natural  History  of  Jamaica  8 
Hart-vig's  Sea  and  its  Living  Wonders  8 

Kirby  and  Spence's  F.ntomology    -  11 

Lee's  Elements  of  Natural  History  12 

Maunder's  Natural  History    -        -  15 

Quitref.ige's  Natuialist's  Rambles  18 

Stonehenie  on  the  Dog  -  21 
Turton's  Shells  ofthe  British  Islands  2^ 

Waierton's  Essayson  Natural  Hist.  23 

Youalt's  Work  on  the  Dog     -       -  24 

"                  ''           Horse          -  24 


l-Volume    EncyclopBedias 
and  Dictionaries. 

Blaine's  Rural  Sports    -        -        .      4 

Brande's  Science,  Literature, and  Art  4 

Coplao'l's  Dictionary  of  Medicine  -      6 

Cresy'6  Civil  Engineering       -       -      S 

Gwilt's  Architecture        -        -        -      8 

Johnston's  Geographical  Dictionary  11 

Loudon's  Agriculture      -        -        -     13 

"        Rural  Architecture         -    13 

"         Gardening        ...     13 

■'         Plants     -        -        -        -     13 

"        Trees  and  Shrubs    -        -     ]3 

M'Culloch's  Geographical  Dictionary  14 

**         DictionaryofCommerce  14 

Murray's  Encyclo.  of  Geography  -     17 

Sharp's  British  Gazetteer       -        -    20 

Ure's  Dictionary  of  Arts,  &c.-        -    23 

Webster's  Domestic  Economy       -    23 

Religious  &  Moral  W^orks. 

Afternoon  of  Life    -        -        -       -  3 

Amy  Herbert           -        -        -        -  20 

Bloomfield'sGreekTestament        -  4 

"             Supplement  to  ditto  4 

Bray  on  Education  of  the  Fetlings  4 

Bunvan's  Pilgrim's  Progress         -  6 

Calvert's  Wife's  Manual          -        -  5 

Catz  and  Farlie's  Moral  Emblems  K 

Cleve  Hall 20 

Conyheare  and  Howson's  St.  Paul  6 
Cotton's  Instructions  in  Christianity  6 
Dale's  Domestic  Liturgy         -        -'7 

Deienceof  E'/i/iseo/Fflirt   .        -  7 

Earl's  Daughter  (The)    -       -        -  20 

Eclipse  of  I-  aith      -        ...  7 

Experience  (The)  of  Life        -       -  20 

Gertrude                     -         .         -         -  20 

Hoare  on  the  Veracity  of  Oenesis  -  9 

Home's  Introduction  to  Scriptures  9 

"         Abridgment  of  ditto          -  In 

Humpbrrys's  I'arabtes  Illuminated  10 


Ivors ;  or,  the  Two  Cousins   -       ^20 
Jameson's  Sacred  Legends     -        -  10 
"       Monastic  Legends    -       -  10 
"       Legends  of  the  Madonna  10 
"       Lectures  on  Female  Em- 
ployment    -----  10 
Jeremy  Taylor's  Works  -       -        -  11 
Katharine  ishton           -        -        -  20 
Konig's  Pictorial  Lift  of  Luther    -  8 
Laneton  Parsonage        -        -       -  20 
LyraGermanica     -        -        -        -  5 
Maguire's  Rome     -        -        -        -  14 
Margaret  Percival  -        -        -        -  20 
Marshman's  Serampore  Mission  -  15 
Martineau's  Christian  .Life  -        -  14 
"                Hymns       -        -        -  14 
"               Studies  of  Christianity  14 
Merivale's  Christian  Records         -  16 
Moore  on  the  Use  of  the  Body        -  16 
"         "       Soul  and  Body         -  16 
"    's  Man  and  hie  Motives       -  16 
Morning  Clouds     -        -        -        -  16 
Moseley's  Astro-Theology      -        -  16 
Neale's  Closing  Scene     -        -       -  17 
Powell's  Christianity  without  Ju- 
daism        -        -        -        -  18 
"        Order  of  Natui-e       -        -  18 
Readings  for  Lent          -        -        -  20 
"           Confirmation    -        -  20 
Riddle's  Household  Prayers         -  19 
Rohmson's  Lexicon  to  the  Greek 

Testament 19 

SchimmelPenninck's  Musings       -  19 

.'Self  Eiamiuation  for  Confirmation  20 

Sewell'kHistnryofthe  Early  Church  20 

"     Passing  thoughU  on  Religion  20 

Smith's  (Sydney)  Moral  Philosophy  21 

"       (G.')  Wesleyan  Methodism  20 

"       (J.)  St.  Paul's  Shipwreck  -  20 

Soulhey's  Life  of  Wesley       -       -  21 

Spitta'B  Lyra  Domestica        -        -  21 

Stephen's  Ecclesiustical  Biography  21 

Theologia  Germanica     -        -        -  5 

Thumb  Bible  (The)                -        -  2f 

Ursula    ------  20 

Poetry  and  the  Drama. 

Aikin's  (Dr.)  British  Poets     -       -  3 

Arnold's  Merope  _  -        -        -        -  3 

'*        Poems       -        -        -        -  3 

Goldsmith's  Poems,  illustrated     -  8 

L.  E.  L.'s  Poetical  Works               -  12 

liinwood's  AntbologiaOxoniensis-  13 

Lyra  Germanica     -        -         -        -  5 

Macaulay's  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome  14 

Mac  Donald's  Within  and  Without  14 

**                Poems    -        -        -  14 

Montgomery's  Poetical  Works      -  16 

Moore's  Poetical  Works          -        -  16 

'■■        Selections  (illustrated)     -  16 

"       Lalla  Rookh      .        -        -  16 

"        Irish  Melodies  -       -        -  16 

••        National  Melodies     •        -  16 

"         Sacred  Songs  (MJt«A3fmic)  16 

"        Songs  and  Ballads   -        -  16 

Power's  Virginia's  Hand        -        -  18 

Shakspeare,  by  Bowdler         -        -  20 

Snuthey's  Poetical  Works       -       -  21 

Spitta's  Lyra  Domestica                 -  21 

Thomson's  Seasons,  illustrated      -  22 

W'arburton'ft  Hunting  Songs          -  23 

Wilkins's  Political  BaUads    -        -  2t 

The   Sciences    in    general 
and  Mathematics. 

Arago's  Meteorological  Essays      -  3 

'*        Popular  Astronomy  -        -  3 

Boase's  Philosophy  of  Nature  -  4 
Bourne's    Catechiiim    of    Steam- 

Engine        -----  4 

Boyd's  Naval  Cadet's  Manual       -  4 

Brande's  Dictionary  of  Science,  &c.  4 

"  Lectures  on  Organic  Chemistry  4 

Coniogton's  Chemical  Analysis    -  6 

Cresy's  Civil  Engineering       -       -  6 

De  la  Rive's  Electricity           -        -  7 

Grove's  Correla.  of  Physical  Forces  8 

Herschel's  Outlines  ol  Astronomy  9 

Holland's  Mental  Physiology        -  9 

Humboldt's  Aspects  of  Nature      -  10 

*'            Cosmos      -        -        -  10 

Hunt  on  Light      -       -        -        -  11 

Lardner's  Cabinet  Cyclopsedia      -  12 

Marcel's  (Mrs.)  Conversations       -  14 

Morell's  Elements  of  Psychology  -  16 

Moseley's  Astro  Theology      -        -  16 

"        Engineering  *  Architecture  16 

Ogilvie's  Master- Builder's  Plan     -  17 

Ovven's  Lectureson  Comp.  Anatomy  17 

Pereira  on  Polarised  Light    -        -  17 

Peschel's  Elements  of  Physics      -  17 

Phillips's  Mineralogy     -        -        -  17 

"  Guide  to  Geology  -  -  17 
Piesse's  Laboratory  of  Chynoical 

Wonders      .        .        -        -        .  18 


Powell's  Unity  of  Worlds 
Ramsay's  Glaciers  of  North  Wales 

and  Switzerland  -        -        -        , 
Smee's  Electro-Metallurgy    - 
Steam-Engine  ^The) 
Tate  on  Strength  of  Materials 
Twisden's  Examples  in  Mechanisr 
Webb's  Celestial  Objects  for  Com  - 

mon  Telescopes 

Rural  Sports. 

Baker's  Rifle  and  Hound  in  Ceylon 
Blaine's  Dictionary  of  Sports 
Cecil's  SUble  Practice   - 

"  Stud  Farm  -  -  -  . 
Dead  Shot  (The)  -  .  -  . 
Ephemera  on  Angling  -  -  - 
'*  's  Book  of  the  Salmon  - 
Freeman  and  Salvin's  Falconry  - 
Hamilton's   Reminiscences  of  an 

Old  Sportsman   - 
Hawker's  Young  Sportsman  - 
Howard's  .athletic  Exercises  - 
The  Hunting-Field 
Idle's  Hints  on  Shooting 
Pocket  and  the  Stud 
Practical  Horsemanship 
iPvcroft's  Cricket  Field  - 
Richardson's  Horsemanship  - 
Ronalds'  Flv-Fisher's  Entomology 
Salmon  Fishing  in  Canada    - 
Stable  Talk  and  Table  Talk  - 
Stonehenge  on  the  Dog  -        -       - 

'*  on  the  Greyhound 

The  Stud,  for  Practical  Purposes  - 

Veterinary  Medicine,  8t>' 

Cecil's  Stable  Practice 

'*     Stud  Farm  -        _        - 

Hunting. Field  (The)     - 
Miles's  Horse-Shoeing  -        -        - 

"    on  the  Horse's  Foot 
Pocket  and  tile  Stud       -        -       - 
Practical  Horsemanship 
Richardson's  Horsemanship 
Stable  Talk  and  Table  Talk  - 
Stonehenge  on  the  Dog  - 
Stud  (The)  .       -        .       . 

Y'ouatt's  Work  on  the  Dog    - 
„  .,  Horse 

Voyages  and  Travels. 

Baker's  Wanderings  in  Ceylon 
Earth's  African  Travels 
Burton's  East  Africa 

"        Lake  Regions  of  Central 

Africa   -        -        -       - 

<'       Medina  and  Mecca  - 

Domenech's  Texas         -        -        . 

'*      Deserts  of  North  America 

Forester's  Sardinia  and  Corsica     - 

Hill's  Peru  and  Mexico  - 

Hinchliffs  Travels  in  the  Alps      - 

Hind's  North  American  Exploring 

Expeditions-  -  -  -  . 
Howitt's  Victoria  -  -  -  - 
Hue's  Chinese  Empire  -  -  . 
Hudson    and      Kennedy's    Mont 

Blanc  -        -       -  -        - 

Humboldt's  Aspects  of  Nature 
Hutchinson's  Western  Africa 
Kane's  Wanderings  of  an  Artist    - 
Lady's  Tour  round  Monte  Rosa    - 
Lowe's  Ceotral  India  in  1b57  &  1858 
M'Clure's  iNorth-West  Passage      - 
Minturn's  New  York  to  Delhi 
Mbllhausen'B  Journey  to  the  Shpres 

ofthe  Pacific      -        -        -        - 
Peaks,  Passes,  and  Glaciers 
Ramsay's  Glaciers  of  North  Wales 

and  Switzerland  -  .  -  - 
Senior's  Journal  in  Turkey  and 

Greece  .        -        .        -        - 

Snow's  Tierra  del  Fuego 
Tennent's  Ceylon  -        -        -        - 
Weld's  Vacations  in  Ireland  - 

'•        Highlands  and  Orcadia 

"       Pyrenees    -        .        -        . 

"  United  States  andCanada-  : 
Whiteside's  Italy  -  -  -  -  ; 
Wills's  "  Eagle's  Nest."         -        -    1 


VTorks  of  Fiction. 

Cruikshank's  Falsiaff    - 
Moore  s  Epicurean 
Seivell's  Ursula       - 
Simpkinson's  Washington     - 
Sir  Roger  DeCoverley    - 
Sketches  (The),  Three  Tales 
Soiithey's  The  Doctor,  *c.     - 
Trollope'B  Barchester  Towers 
"         Warden 


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Sir  I-I.  Holland's  Chapters  on  Mental  Physi- 
ology, founded  cluetly  on  Chapters  contained 
in  Medical  Notes  and  Refections.  Second 
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Home's  Introduction   to   the    Critical 

Study  and  Knowledge  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. Tenth  Edition,  revised,  corrected, 
and  brought  down  to  the  present  time. 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  T.  Hartwell  Horne, 
B.D.  (the  Author)  ;  the  Rev.  Samttel 
Davidson,  D.D.  of  the  University  of  Halle 
and  LL.D.  ;  S.  Pbideaux  Tregelles, 
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***  The  Four  Volumes  may  also  be  had  separately  as 
follows  :^ 

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the  Holy  Scriptures.  By  the  Rev.  T.  H.  HoKNii,  B.D.  8vo. 
15s. 

Vol.  II.— The  Text  of  the  Old  Testament  considered :  Wit  h 
a  Treatise  on  Sacred  Interpretaticn  ;  and  a  brief  lutrodu<- 
tion  to  ihe  Old  Testament  Books  and  the  Apocrypka.  By  S. 
Davii  SON,  D.D.  (Halle)  and  LL.D .8vo.  iSs. 

*«*  A  New  Edition  of  this  Volume,  re-cdited  by  the  Rev. 
John  Ayre,  Domestic  Chaplain  to  the  Earl  of  Koden,  is 
nearly  ready  

Vol.  III.—  ASunmiary  of  Biblical  Geography  and  Anti- 
qiiities.    By  the  Rev.  T.  H.  HoKNK,  B.D Svo.  18s. 

Vol.  IV.— An  Introduction  to  the  Textual  Criticism  of  the 
New  Testament.  By  the  Kev.  T.  H.  Horne,  B.D.  The 
Critical  Part  re-written,  and  the  remainder  revised  and 

edited  by  S.  P.  Tbegillis,  LL.D Svo.  18s. 

B    5 


10 


NEW  WOEKS  AND  NEW  EDITIONS 


Home.  —  A  Compendious  Introduction 

to  the  Study  of  the  Bible.  By  the  Rev. 
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Howard.— Athletic  and  Gymnastic  Ex- 
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"  rpHANKS  to  Mr.  Kings- 
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mental  facultiis,  is  now  re- 
cognised by  most  of  the  in- 
structors of  youth ;  and  since 
the  rapid  extension  of  the 
volunteer  movement  we  are 
more  lik-ely  to  devote  too 
much  attention  to   atliletic 


exercises  than  too  little. 
The  establishment  of  i,'ym- 
nasiuius  is  of  great  advantage 
to  boys, who  would  be  often'er 
kept  out  of  mischief  if  they 
had  some  recreation  on  which 
to  expend  tlieir  redundant 
energies.  To  all  sucli  youth- 
lul  Spartans  this  little  vol- 
ume will  be  of  great  assist- 
ance. '  svs. 


Howitt.-The  Children's  Year.  By  Mary 

HowiTT.  Witli  4  Illustrations,  from  De- 
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Howitt.  — Land,     Labour,    and    Gold; 

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William  Hewitt's  Boy's  Country  Book 

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Hudson's  Executor's  Guide.    New  and 

enlarged  Edition,  revised  by  the  Author 
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Hudson's  Plain  Directions  for  Making 

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ration. By  J.  C.  Hudson,  late  of  the 
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Hudson  and  Kennedy.— Where  there  's 

a  Will  there 's  a  Way  :  An  Ascent  of  Mont 
Blanc  by  a  New  Eoute  and  Without  Guides. 
By  the  Eev.  C.  Hudson,  M.A.,  and  E.  S. 
Kennedy,  B.A.  Seco7id  Edition,  with  Plate 
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Humboldt's  Cosmos.    Translated,  with 

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PiTBiiSHED  BT  LONGMAN.  GEEEN,  and  CO. 


H 


lunt.  —  Researches    on    Light   m  its 

Chemical  Relations  ;  embracing  a  Con- 
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By  RoBEKT  Hunt,  E.R.S.  Second  Ecbtion, 
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MA  formerly  Vice-Principal  of  the  ]Na- 
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Hutchinson's  Impressions   of  Western 

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Idle's  Hints  on  Shooting,  Fishing,  &c., 

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Jacquemet's   Chronology   for    Schools. 

Containing  the  most    important   Dates    ot 
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to  the  end  of  the  year  1857.     Edited  by  the 
Rev.  J.  Alcoen,  M.A.    Ecp.  8vo.  3s.  6d. 

Mrs.  Jameson's  Legends  of  the  Saints 

and  Martyrs,  as  represented  m  Christian  Art. 
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Mrs.  Jameson's  Legends  of  the  Monastic 
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Mrs.  Jameson's  Legends  of  the  Madonna, 
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Mrs.  Jameson's  Commonplace-Book  of 

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Keith  Johnston's   New  Dictionary   of 

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Kane.-Wanderings  of  an  Artist  among 

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Tatham-The  Enghsh  Language.    By 

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12 


NEW  WORKS  AND  NEW  EDITIONS 


LARDNER»S    CABINET    CYCLOP>EDIA 

Of  History,  Biography,  Literature,  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  Natural  Kistory,  and  Manufacture 

A  Series  of  Original  Works  by 


Sir  John  Herschel, 
Sir  James  Mackintosh, 
Robert  Southev, 
Sir  David  Brewster, 


Thomas  Keightley, 
John  Forster, 
Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Thomas  Moore, 


and  other  Eminent  Writers. 


Bishop  Thirlwali,, 
The  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig, 
J.  C.  L.  De  Sismondi, 
John  Phillips,  F.R.S.,  G.S. 


Complete  in  132  vols.  fcp.  8vo.  with  Vignette  Titles,  price,  in  cloth,  Nineteen  Guineas. 
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1.  Bell's  History  of  Russia 3  vols.  lOs.  6d. 

2.  Bell's  Lives  of  British  Poets  2  vols.   7s. 

8.  Brewster's  Optics  1  vol.  3s.  6d. 

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5.  Crowe's  History  of  France 3  vols.  lOs.  6d. 

6.  De  Morgan  on  ProbahiUties  1  vol.  3s.  6d. 

7.  De  Sismondi's  History   of  the  Italian 

Republics  1  vol.  3s.  6d. 

8.  De  Sismondi's  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  2  vols.  7s. 

9.  Donovan's  Chemistry  1  vol.  Ss.  6d. 

10.  Donovan's  Domestic  Economy 2  vols.  7s. 

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12.  Dunham's  History  of  Denmark,  Sweden, 

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13.  Dunham's  History  of  Poland 1  vol.  3s.  6d. 

H.  Dunham's  Germanic  Empire 3  vols.  10s.  Gd. 

15.  Dunham's   Europe  during  the  Middle 

A?es 4  yoig;  j^g^ 

16.  Dunliam's  British  Dramatists  2  vols.  7s. 

17.  Dunham's  Lives  of  Early   Writers    of 

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25.  Herschel's  Discourse  on  Natural  Philo- 

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25.  History  of  Rome 2  vols.  7s. 

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30.  Kater  and  Lardner's  Mechanics  l  vol.  3s.  6d. 

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82.  Lardner's  Aritlunetic 1  vol.'  3s.  Gd' 

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34.  Lardner  on  Heat 1  vol.  3s.  Gd. 

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37.  Mackintosh,  Forster,  and    Courtenay's 

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38.  Mackintosh,  Wallace,  and  Bell's  History 

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39.  Montgomery  and  Shelley's  eminent  Ita- 

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40.  Moore's  History  of  Ireland 4  vols.  14s. 

41.  Nicolas's  Clirouology  of  History 1  vol.  'ss.  Gd. 

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43.  Powell's  History  of  Natural  Philosophy  1  vol.  '3s.  Gd. 

44.  Porter's  Treatise  on  tlie  Manufacture  of 


Silk. 


^^    ^  1  vol.  3s.  Cd. 

45.  Porter's  Manufactures  of  Porcelain  and 

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46.  Roscoe's  British  Lawyers 1  vol.  3s.  Gd. 

47.  Scott's  History  of  Scotland 2  vols.  7s. 

48.  Shelley's    Lives    of    eminent    French 

Authors 2  vols.  7s. 

49.  Shuckard  and  Swainson's  Insects 1  vol.  3s.  Gd. 

50.  Southey's  Lives  of  Britisli  Admirals  ....  5  vols.  17s.  Gd. 

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55.  Swainson's    Habits    and    Instincts    of 

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56.  Swainson's  Birds 2  vols.  7s. 

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58.  Swainson's  Quadrupeds 1  vol.  3s.  Gd. 

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CO.  Swainson's  Anunals  in  Menageries 1  vol.  3s!  6d! 

Gl.  Swainson's  Taxidermy  and  Biography  of 

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62.  Thu-lwaU's  Histoi-y  of  Greece 8  vols  ''Ss 


Mrs.  R,  Lee's  Elements  of  Natural  His- 
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Dr.  John  Lindley's  Theory  and  Practice 

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Dr.  Lindley's  Introduction  to  Botany.    New 

Edition,  revised  and  enlarged  ;  with  6  Plates 
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Br.  lindley's  Synopsis  of  the  British  Flor.a 
arranged  according  to  the  Natural  Order  • 
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13 


inwood— Anthologia  Oxoniensis,  sive 

Floi-ile'^ium  e  Lusibus  poeticis  diversorum 
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History  of  England         Is. 

Croker's  Edition  of  Bos- 
well's  Life  of  Johnson. ..Is. 


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Lord  Olive    is. 

William  Pitt ;  and  the  Earl 
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Popes;  and  Gl.idstone  on 
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Moore.— Man  and  Ms  Motives.  By  Georg 
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Morton's    Agricultural    Handbooks. 

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PUBilsHEiJ  BY  LOKGMAN,  aHEEN,  a.nd  CO. 


11 


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comprismg  a  complete  Description  of  the 
Earth:  Exhibiting  its  Relation  to  the 
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Natural  History  of  each  Country  and  the 
Industry,  Commerce,  Political  Inftitu  ions, 
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Second  Edition  ;  with  82  Maps,  and  upwards 
of  1,000  other  Woodcuts.     8vo.  price  60s. 

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price  6s. 
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The  above  three  works  form  together  a  con- 
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In  certain  portions  of  its  subject-matter ; 

And  in  a  series  of  Historical  Sketches. 

Ogilvie.  — The  Master-Builder's  Plan; 

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18 


KEW  WOEKS  AJ^jD  NEW  EDITIONS 


Piesse  s  Laboratory  of  Chymical  Won- 
ders :  a  Scientific  Melange  intended  for  the 
Instruction  and  Entertainment  of  Yount^ 
People.     Fep.  8ro.  with  Illustrations.         " 

[_Just  ready. 

Piesse's  Chymical,  Natural,  and  Physi- 
cal Magic,  for  the  Instruction  and  Enter- 
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Vacation.  Second  Edition  ;  with  30  Wood- 
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price  3s.  6d. 

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Cosmetiques,  Perfumed  Soap,  &e. ;  and  an 
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ficial  Fruit  Essences,  &c.  Second  Edition  ; 
with  46  Woodcuts.     Crown  8vo.  Ss.  6d. 

Piozzi.  —  Autobiography,   Letters,   and 

Literary  Remains  of  Mrs.  Piozzi  (Thrale), 
Author  of  Anecdotes  of  Br.  Jofinson.  Edited^ 
with  Notes  and  some  account  of  her  Life 
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With  a  Portrait  of  Mrs.  Piozzi,  and  an  en- 
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m  which  Mrs.  Piozzi  sat.     2  vols,  post  8vo. 

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&c.     Crown  Svo.  7s.  6d. 

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Nature.  By  the  Eev.  Baden  Powell, 
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Power.— Virginia's  Hand :  a  Poem.    By 

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B.A.     Second  Edition.     Fep.  Svo. 

Pycroft's  Course  of  English  Eeading,  adaptec 
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Quatrefages  (A.  De).  —  Rambles   of  a 

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Member  of  the  Institute.  Translated  bj 
E.  C.  Otte.     2  vols,  post  Svo.  15s. 

Raikes  (T.)— Portion  of  the  Journal  kept 

by  Thomas  Eaikes,  Esq.,  froml831  to  1847 : 
Comprising  Eeminiscences  of  Social  and 
Political  Life  in  London  and  Paris  during 
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Ramsay.— The  Old  Glaciers  of  North 

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F.E.S.  and  G.S.,  Local  Director  of  the  Geo- 
logical Survey  of  Great  Britain,  and  Profes- 
sor of  Geology  in  the  Government  School  of 
Mines.  Eeprinted  from  Peaks,  Passes,  and 
Glaciers;  with  Map  and  14  Woodcuts 
Fep.  Svo.  4s.  6d. 

"  ]\  TR.  RAMSAY  has  given 
-l^ti  us  in  tliis  little  vol- 
ume a  reprint  of  his  con- 
tribution to  Peaks,  Passes, 
and  Glaciei-s  —  thus  repro- 
ducing in  a  very  portable 
form  pages  which  will  con- 
stitute an  invaluable  com- 
panion to  the  tourist  in 
North  VVales.where  the  otiier 
experiences  of  tlie  Alpine 
Club  would  not  be  necessarj- 

to  his  knapsack The  most 

unlearned  tourist  may  take 
Mr.  Ramsay's  work  and  fol- 
low the  tracks  which  he 
points  out.   For  this  book  is 

Rich's  Dictionary  of  Roman  and  Greek 

Antiquities;  with  nearly  2,000  Woodcuts 
representing  Objects  from  the  Antique  illus- 
trative of  the  Industrial  Arts  and  Social 
Life  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Being  a 
Second  and  cheaper  Edition  of  the  lUnslraied 
Compcmion  to  the  Latin  Dictionarg  and  Greek 
Lexicon.    Post  Svo.  12s.  6d. 

Horsemanship  ;   or,  the  Art  of  Riding 

and  Managing  a  Horse,  adapted  to  the  Guid- 
ance of  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  on  the  Eoad 
and  in  the  Field :  With  Instructions  for 
Breaking-in  Colts  and  Young  Horses.  By 
Captain  M.  Eichaedson.  With  6  Plates. 
Square  crown  Svo.  143.  j 


not  interesting  alone  to  the 
scientific  reader;  it  avoids 
as  much  as  possible  the  tech- 
nical vocabulary  of  the  geo- 
logist and  mineralogist,  and 
renders  its  descriptions  with 
a  hearty  and  fluent  freshness 
which  only  a  genuine  love 
of  nature  could  inspire.  And 
theie  are  few  travellers  so 
unimaginative,  so  obdurate 
to  the  spell  which  the  most 
poetic  of  mountains  throws, 
as  not  to  be  set  a-thinking 
more  or  less  in  a  speculative 
way  by  Mr.  Ramsay's  ob- 
servations."   John  Bull. 


prsuSHED  BT  LONGMAN,  GREEN,  and  CO. 


19 


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Middle's  Complete  Latin-English  and 

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,  ,      f  The  EnglisTi-Latin  Dictionary,   7s. 
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iliddle's  Young  Scholar's  Latin-English 

and  English -Latin  Dictionary.  New  and 
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,  ,      f  The  Latin-English  Dictionary ,  6s . 
Separately   -J^-fijg  English-Latin  Dictionary,  js. 

Riddle's  Diamond  Latin-English  Dictionary. 
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Royal  32mo.  price  49. 


1  Rowton's  Debater:  A  Series  of  complete 

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Dr.  Russell's  Life  of  Cardinal    ezzofanti : 

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revised..  3  vols,  post  8vo.  21.. 


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Rivers's  Rose-Amateur's  Guide ;  contain- 

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20 


WEW  WOEKS  AND  NEW  EDITIONS 


Sewell  (Miss).— New  and  cheaper  Col- 
lected Edition  of  the  Tales  and  fc^tories  of 
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was  originally  intended  as  a 
supplement  to  other  works 
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existence,  but  the  author 
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tions it  could  be  made  in- 
dependent —  an  advantage 
greatly  to  be  desired.    Hints 


"  A  S  a  writer  of  natural 

■^1-     history,    Waterton 

takes  rank  amongst  the 

highest  and  best.     He  is 


second    nnlv    to    Gilbert 
White,  the  delightful  his- 
torian of  Selborne." 
New  M0NTHI.Y  Maq. 


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and  compact  book  of  refer-    to  supply  the  place  of  such 

tnce  and  a  guide  for  amateur    compendiums  as  the  Nauti- 

astronomers,  which  will  be    eal  Mn.anaok  or  the  various 

doubly  acceptable  in  direct-    catalogues .ot  the  stars;  al; 


ing  their  attention  instruc- 
tively to  the  various  theore 
tical  views  of  the  most  ad- 
vanced science  by  a  fev^-  briet 
but  clearly  expi  eased  state- 


eaiaiogues  01  mc  oiAioi  01- 
though  a  large  portion  ot 
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24 


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